Sifting Gold: Part One, Water
by AlissonLoon
Summary: After Aurelia returns from two years of firebending training to her elite life in the Fire Nation Capital, she rekindles her relationship with Prince Zuko. Unexpectedly, she's forced to leave her home again to go to the Northern Water Tribe because of her unusual bending talents. Meanwhile, Zuko is banished from the Fire Nation. When they meet again, what will happen to them?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, got the first chapter up! I'm going to try and update every week, although sometimes it may be longer than that and other times shorter. I'm going to try and make this a really long story, and it's probably going to be in three parts. I hope you enjoy it so far.**

**Just letting you guys know, I kind of played with the plot from the show, the major difference is that Zuko gets burned/banished and all that when he is almost sixteen, not thirteen. Also, in order to work with that change, Zuko's time searching for the Avatar with Iroh is shorter, it's about two years. I think that's all the major differences that you need to know about.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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**Chapter One**

**_Aurelia_**

My favorite annual trip had almost arrived. The next day Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, Taja, Seren, Kamilah and I were all going to Azula's family's house on Ember Island. Azula's brother, Zuko, and Kamilah's brother, Kea, also would go with the rest of us. My mother, Michiko, and Azula's mother, Ursa, used to take us, but since we were all fifteen and older, we were allowed to go by ourselves. Also, Ursa and Michiko both disappeared within the same year two years ago as well. Fire Lord Osai definitely wouldn't bring us to the island, and my father, Admiral Nero, was off in the Earth Kingdom with most of the Fire Nation's naval fleets, so we had to go alone.

I hadn't seen my friends in almost three years. My father sent me off when I turned twelve, shortly after my mother disappeared, to a master firebender and samurai in the mountainous lands of the northwestern Fire Nation. I had finally completed my work with him, Master Keanu, and had gotten home two days ago. I didn't bother my friends with trying to see them that day or the day before because I wanted it to be special to reunite with them on Ember Island. I was also exhausted.

I was initially very reluctant to study with Master Keanu, but I had no choice but to go. Father was very distraught after Mother disappeared and claimed that I was going to be the most powerful and beautiful lady in all of the Fire Nation, and only Master Keanu could make the most powerful. Not only did Master Keanu perfect my firebending, martial arts, and combat skills, but he also taught me how to connect with my spiritual self and come closer to true enlightenment. It didn't take long for Master Keanu to discover that I could also bend water, and to my surprise he was not mad or taken aback at all. In fact, he smiled and hugged me, and told me about the reasoning for my bi-bending skills.

_"Master Keanu, I am thankful to see that you are not surprised at all to see that I can waterbend and firebend. I have never told anyone of this before, because I was afraid it would result in me becoming a traitor or becoming impure, and that Fire Lord Ozai would seize my family of our nobility and my father of his position," I confessed._

_"Aurelia, I am so thankful to all of the Spirits that they have granted me with such a special student! I have heard from my own masters, and their masters, and their masters before that, of the powerful and talented student who may exhibit not one element that they have the ability to bend, but two. It is ambiguous to why exactly these benders are born, but there is always one thing these benders have in common. They have the ability to bend only the opposite elements. You can bend fire and water. Fire is fervor, energy, drive, and it comes from the sun. Although, fire is also seen as something differently. It is often seen as only raw power that is driven from rage and results in destruction. Many firebenders use this to their advantage and only use it for destruction, but some, like you and I, use fire in it's true form—the spirit of energy and light. Water is calm and fluid, it comes from the moon and it is adaptive. Because of this it is the element of unity. Water is often believed to be a weak element, but it is equal in strength to fire. Although, both have their strengths and weaknesses. Where fire is weak, water is strong; where water is weak, fire is strong. You possess the ability to utilize both, and so in you, they fit together and balance out one another. This is the explanation to why you can bend two opposite elements, you are a symbol of balance and can use your abilities to direct that balance into the places in the world that need it most. This is a similar ability to the Avatar and his or her ability to bend all four elements. The Avatar uses their bending to balance out the elements, and you are supposed to balance out the opposing elements of water and fire."_

_I sat still for a few minutes, absorbing what Master Keanu had just told me. "Why me, though? Why did I get this ability? And, who gave it to me?"_

_"The Spirits gave this to you, my student, and they did so because they knew that you had the inner spirit that could safely and successfully deliver balance to the world." Master Keanu said calmly._

_"I understand this is a blessing from the Spirits, Master Keanu, but I don't want my family to suffer from my gift, and something tells me that they will. Fire Lord Ozai believes that fire is raw power and that the other elements are inferior to fire, and if he discovers that I can waterbend he will banish me for being a traitor! And my poor father will lose his ranking, even after all he's been through with my mother!" I exclaimed._

_"Aurelia, it is necessary that the world know of your ability in order for you to direct balance to it. Fire Lord Ozai would not punish you or your family for your abilities, for he is aware of the strength people like you possess, and will want you on his side to defeat the Avatar. When you return home, you will spend about six months in the Royal Caldera City training with the other noble firebenders, then I will travel to Royal Caldera City myself and tell the Fire Lord of your abilities and the help that would be to him. I will suggest that you master waterbending in the Northern Water Tribe, and he will agree. When you return to the Fire Nation I urge you not to pursue any intimate relationships with anyone. It will break your heart to leave them when you go to train in the Northern Water Tribe. It will be a strenuous temptation to resist, but I am afraid it is only in your best interest. You will most likely not be allowed to resume that relationship after your training as well. In fact, I am beginning to expect that you will not resume life in the Fire Nation at all after your training." Master Keanu told me._

I recounted the memory in my head as a crawled into my bed. Six months seemed so short, I didn't know if I could learn about everything I missed in that time. I had spent so much time away from Royal Caldera City. I missed my friends so much. It wasn't just my friends I had missed and worried about. It was someone else too.

Zuko. My mother and his, Ursa, had always talked about how when we turn twelve we were going to be betrothed. They playfully teased us about it a lot, and we would just blush and laugh in our hands. Ever since we were young, we always were drawn to each other. Our mothers would tell us, when we were infants we would always crawl over to each other and hold hands. I would have been very happy betrothed to him, and part of me wanted so badly for our fathers to rekindle the engagement, but after our mothers disappeared we didn't grow together and help each other with our losses, we grew apart, and before I knew it I was headed off to Master Keanu. He was almost sixteen anyways, which meant that he was probably already betrothed.

I sighed to myself and cuddled further into my sheets. I had forgotten how soft the dark red, silk sheets of my bed in Royal Caldera City were. I closed my eyes and slowly lulled into a dreamless sleep.

When I opened my eyes slowly the next morning, I quickly remembered what day it was and jumped out of bed. Ember Island! I was hopping with excitement. I knew that the maids had already packed up all my wardrobe and everything I could ever possibly need for this two week trip. My bath had just finished filling with hot water when I walked into my bathroom. I took a quick bath and dried myself off. I looked in my mirror when I finished drying off and looking at my shape and face, wondering if I'd changed much in the past three years. I'd grown a couple of inches, and all my training with Master Keanu had thankfully made me lithe, not really so much noticeably muscular, just thinner. Since I was getting older, my hips and chest had obviously grown. It was hard to compare my face from three years ago because I'd been looking at this face almost every day for the past three years and all my growth differences just morphed into nothing. _Hopefully I look older, _I thought to myself as I went to my mirror and make up. I wasn't one to wear a lot of make up, I always wore dark red lipstick, but my lips were already dark so it was more so for emphasis. I put on my lipstick. My skin with smooth and so white it looked like I never left the house. My eyelashes were already thick and black, but I painted a black line right on the skin underneath is to perhaps make me look older. Two female servants, Tulia and Kairi, ran in to my room and apologized for me having to put on my make up myself. I laughed and said it wasn't a problem, but I did need help with my hair so I let them do it formally. They parted my hair smoothly and pulled it back into a braid that wrapped around the back of my head in a circle. The rest was pushed through the circle and lay straight and combed to the small of my back. I thanked them and told them I would dress myself. They left.

I looked into my closet that I hadn't visited in three years. I looked over all of my old clothing, consisting of black and different dark reds like maroon and burgundy, and a little bit of dark purple. My old wardrobe reminded me of myself before Master Keanu: I was a whiny and spoiled bitch. I still am, but I'm a little happier than I was then. I'm still volatile, hot-tempered, hostile, and unwelcome to strangers, but I'm not all black-hearted like I was. Master Keanu helped me recover from my mother's disappearance and taught me how to accept and acknowledge death.

Something struck me, and I gasped to myself—none of these clothes would fit me. My chest and hips had grown, and I was taller. I threw my head against the wall I was standing against and groaned. It was then that I heard a meek knocking.

"Come in." I ordered, still frustrated from my realization. It was Kairi.

"My lady, would you like your new clothes now? Your father sent them a week ago but they got here this morning. He would figure you'd have grown." Kairi told me to my relief. I nodded my head happily and sighed. I'd forgotten the limitless luxuries of being in the top Fire Nation elite.

Once Kairi had left I looked through the racks and racks of clothes. Black and red. Just how I like it. I found a beautiful silk, black dress with burgundy embroidery. It was sleeveless but had an unfolded collar with a slit in the middle of it. Up the skirt of the dress there was a slit that went slightly past my knee. Around my waist was a simple black obi. I put my mother's gold necklace with a ruby pendant around my neck and looked in the mirror. I looked pretty good. I called in Kairi and Tulia and asked them for their honest opinion. They smiled at me and said I looked beautiful but insisted on putting on a little more make up. Both of them wore a lot of make up. They applied some blush to the apples of my cheeks and fixed the black paint on my eyes slightly then let me go. I thanked them and realized that I was already running late.

I ran to the carriage waiting outside my father's palace and got in, looking at the secondary compartment holding all of my luggage. It was a long ride to the ship that would take my to Ember Island. My family owned a gigantic estate just outside of the Royal Palace's walls. It was no where near as remarkable in size and beauty as the Royal Palace, but it was an extremely close second. The estates that surrounded mine belonged to my friends' families and other noble families of the Fire Nation. We owned an enormous stretch of land together that royalty often visited, being right outside of the land. To leave Royal Caldera City, I would have to travel out of the city and to the Royal Plaza. The Royal Plaza was the only way in and out of the city, and was connected to a large port that held most of the spare military ships—which was a very small amount. I fell asleep while looking out the window as the rest of beautiful Royal Caldera City flashed by.

I awakened quickly to the jolt of the carriage stopping and the door slowly opening. One of my father's ships was waiting for me at the port of the Royal Plaza and I was escorted to it quickly. I was about two hour behind everyone, but that would make my arrival even more of an event.

The ship ride to Ember Island would take about six hours, give or take. I spent most of that time wandering around the ship and reading. When we finally pulled up to the dock next to Azula and Zuko's house, I heard a familiar scream that had been missing from my life for a while. Ty Lee.

"Aurelia!" She screamed at the top of her lungs while she ran inside, presumably to get the other girls. And hopefully, Zuko too.

I soon enough saw plenty more dark-haired heads run from the house down to the dock. Even Mai ran, which was a serious compliment. Azula was the first to embrace me in an enormous hug. Although Azula was cold and harsh, she was a lot like me, which was why we got along so well. She annoyed me a lot too, though.

"Zula! I missed you so, so, so much!" I managed as she squeezed the air out of me. Kamilah and Ty Lee were next, hugging me from the back and sides, Mai, Seren, and Taja slowed down but both got a long-awaited hug after they pried off Ty Lee. I saw three boys in the distance and my heart started beating more quickly. Zuko. I really hoped he'd grown, otherwise I might have been taller than him. One of the other boys must have been Kea, he was close friends with Zuko so he came, but I had no idea who the third boy was. My servants began hulling my luggage up to Azula and Zuko's palace. Meanwhile, me and the rest of the girls kept hugging and asking questions until Zuko, Kea, and the third boys came closer.

**_Zuko_**

I was so excited to see Aurelia, I hadn't seen her since she left to study with Master Keanu, and we didn't leave on the best of notes. We weren't fighting or anything, but both of our mothers had recently disappeared and we just stopped talking as much. I had really liked her and I thought she liked me too, but that became unimportant when my mother and Michiko disappeared. I think I had changed in the past three years though, for the better. I'd grown a lot, and my Uncle Iroh had taken a more significant role in my life to fill the hole the my mother left.

I could see her from here—she was so beautiful. She had always been radiant and beautiful, even as a kid. But now, she was breathtaking. Out of all the young women coming of age in Royal Caldera City, she was the most beautiful of them all, and her beauty was magnetizing to everyone who met her. It was an aura she had too, something enigmatic that compelled you further into her. From here I could see that her hair had darkened slightly but was still considerably lighter than most Fire Nation girls' hair was. Her beautiful eyes reflected all the world but still resembled diamonds, complex and cut sharply but glittering at the edges. Her skin was still completely unflawed and the color of snow, except she looked like she had blush applied to her cheeks. She had the frequently-expressed prominent cheekbones of the Fire Nation peoples. I finally saw her blood red lips and already wanted to kiss them as I had a few times before. She had grown a few inches and she looked much more like a woman now, she was still thin but her body was supple and more feminine.

She met my eyes and tried to slide out of the group of girls. My heartbeat quickened. It took her a moment but she wiggled free and threw herself into my arms. I really had no idea she missed me this much, but I definitely missed her this much. I kept her in a tight hug until I heard my sister's irritating voice right next to Aurelia and I.

"Alright, smitten brother of mine, let's not hog. You guys can reunite romantically, sexually—whatever it is you do, another time. Let's go, Lia." I felt Aurelia being ripped from my arms by Azula and I glared at her. She frowned mockingly and laughed, then drawing her attention back to Aurelia.

**_Aurelia_**

"Nothing really, it was pretty boring actually, like, all we did was meditate and stuff." I exaggerated in response to Mai's asking me of how training was.

"That sounds pretty horrible," Mai claimed monotonously.

"Yeah." We just stared at each other for a few silent seconds and she smiled the smallest bit, a rare and splendid sighting.

"I'm glad you're back, Aurelia." She finally said.

"Me too."

Mai was a somber and melancholic character. She had smooth, pale skin and beautiful thin eyes that changed from a steel-like gray to light yellow. She hardly ever smiled, and wore no make up. She kept her shiny, raven-black hair in bangs, two buns, and the rest hung straight down her chest. She was very tall, and very thin. I never could find the true cause of her despondence, but assumed that she responded to her privileged life differently than the other girls. While girls like Ty Lee and Taja flourished, she saw past the gifts and benefits and saw the neglect she received from her parents and rules she had to follow. And I loved her for being the pessimistic asshole that she was. Optimists are the source of false hope, pessimists are fearless realists. She was straightforward, and this made her look like an asshole, but I'd rather be offended than lied to.

Mai and I walked into the lounge where the rest of the girls were sitting, and Azula swatted off Ty Lee to give me a spot. Azula really liked me, and I was never sure why me so much over the other girls, but I appreciated it. I loved Azula too, though. Although she would often irritate me with her constant desire for absolute power, she was devious and cunning like myself and was my most equal firebending opponent. Azula had sharp amber eyes surrounding by thick, black lashes, and sleek dark brown hair, with a high nose bridge and prominent cheekbones. She was a little shorter than me but slender like me. She was strikingly beautiful, I had always been jealous of the dark and menacing aura she could achieve while still retaining the pure beauty she possessed.

"You've missed so, so much Lia, we're going to be catching up _all_ night!" Azula exclaimed. "Honestly, I can't imagine much happened when you trained. Am I correct?"

"Completely, I don't want to talk about me at all. Tell me about what's been on in your lives." I said. "Wait, one question—who's that other boy? I thought only Zuko and Kea came to the island with us."

"That's Seren's boyfriend!" Ty Lee yelled.

"Shut up, Ty Lee!" Seren rolled her eyes. Seren was a very pretty girl, I wasn't surprised she had a boyfriend. She had thick brown hair that waved slightly and she wore it pulled back with two braids, and the rest down her back. She had very pale skin and almond-shaped eyes that were very light grey. She had thick, dark brown eyelashes and prominent cheekbones. She was very courageous and open-minded. I loved her for her honest opinions but she was a little bit of a spoiled brat like Azula.

"What?! Since when?" I questioned her.

"Shut up, all of you. I'm a superb story teller, let me inform Lia about it." Azula huffed while Seren rolled her eyes again. "So, about five months after you left to train, Father recruited some extremely talented firebenders from The Mountains of the West and Southern Twin Islands of Aki and Yesenia to train troops. One of them, Lio from Yesenia, came over with his son, Asa. He met Seren in the Royal Palace Garden one day a week after arriving. And, after countless days of haikus and love letters being sent back and forth Asa asked Seren on a date. The rest is history… In fact, recently their fathers approved of Asa and Seren's engagement and the two are to be married when Seren comes of age," Azula finished. "Hello? Did that not deserve an applaud? I thought I did a fine storytelling job." She questioned angrily and we all clapped lightly. _Ah, I am reminded of the bratty and spoiled side of Azula._

"That's wonderful Seren! I am so happy for you, I would like to meet him," I said.

"At dinner you will, don't fret."

"Does anyone else have a significant other, like our darling friend does?" I asked whimsically. I quickly reminded myself with a gloomy scowl, _I probably would if I hadn't gone and trained with god damned Master Keanu._

"Ty Lee has a new boyfriend every day, but that's nothing new," Mai said grimly.

"Hey! I have a boyfriend and you've all met him. Twice! It's Kano. I'm tired of all your guys' crap on how I'm completely uncommitted, and I'm sorry guys like me!" Ty Lee huffed and I smiled at this. Ty Lee was an energetic, fun-loving, and extroverted girl. This attracted a lot of guys from the Royal Caldera City town, but never any guys I would ever be interested in. Just idiots who weren't noble in any sense and only cared about the parties they got invited to. Behind Azula, Taja and I, she was the most sought after girl in Royal Caldera City—only by young boys of course—simply because of her personality in comparison to ours. She came from a wealthy family as well and her looks contributed. She had wide, innocent emerald eyes and long brown hair that was worn up. She was of average height and skinny, but she also had light curves like me.

"Did you really just say that?" Mai said dully.

"I'm sorry, but you guys need to accept my romantic life already!" Ty Lee exclaimed.

"Whatever Ty Lee," Azula said. "_Anyways_, Taja has been with a few lovely men of the city."

"You mean _older?_" Seren laughed to herself.

"Shut up!" Taja yelled. Taja was one of my oldest friends. She was the only daughter of the wealthiest man in the entire Fire Nation, other than the Fire Lord. That, and her beauty, was why she was one of the most sought after girls in the Royal Caldera City. She had thick black hair that she wore up with a golden, double-pronged flame piece around her ponytail. She had large, golden eyes and pale skin. She had a heart-shaped face with prominent cheekbones and a widow's peak. She was sardonic and witty, and slightly impervious to others' emotions in result of her only having to worry about herself all her life.

"What do you mean _older?_" I asked Taja directly but Azula answered for her.

"Just that… A lot of the older generals and noblemen have taken a liking to Taja." Azula said.

"Define older," I ordered.

"Late forties!" Kamilah peeped up. Kamilah was typically soft-spoken and quiet, but she was very intellectual. She was also giving and empathetic, regardless of the life she lived that didn't focus on compassion and charity. She was a short, thin girl with lovely black hair that she wore in a bun. She had wide brown eyes and pale skin. She was a very lovely-looking girl.

"Holy shit, Taja!" I exclaimed.

"I don't like little boys like you Ty Lee, my apologies," Taja smirked at the girls.

"I don't see much wrong with that. Older men know how to treat women, unlike these prepubescent assholes that just want to have sex," I scorned the boys of my generation.

"Please, Aurelia, if you liked your men older you would've already been with all of them in the city! All the men in the Fire Nation would give their last dying breath to be with you, from the little boys to the grandfathers," Taja rolled her eyes and the rest of the girls laughed.

"Yeah, you also wouldn't be crawling over my brother!" Azula yelled while Taja and Seren laughed.

"He is the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, Azula," Mai reminded her. "Any woman would crawl over him if she had the chance. He's probably the most handsome boy our age in Royal Caldera City, too." Mai sighed.

"Mai's kind of right, Zula," Ty Lee said hesitantly while the other girls giggled and agreed.

"Ugh! Will you guys stop wetting yourselves for my brother!" Azula cringed and pretended to gag.

"I'm _not _crawling over Zuko." I stated.

All the girls disagreed.

"You can't even deny it! Everyone was talking about when your betrothal was going to be confirmed for so long! And you two were both _elated_ about it." Seren said.

"He's always been in love with you and he still is, I bet on it. I don't blame him, you're a dream, Lia." Kamilah huffed.

"You're too sweet, Kam," I smiled at her.

"Eh, whatever. Let's talk about something else," Azula declared. I smirked deviously to myself, Azula was always jealous of me. I felt myself reflecting on our power struggle over the group before I left for training. She had definitely gotten the upper hand of our little group while I was gone, but now the fight for the top really began.


	2. Chapter 2

**Right on time! Chapter Two is up. Btw sorry that there isn't a ton of action/adventure in these first few chapters, about halfway through a lot more will come in. Alright… hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

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**Chapter Two**

**_Aurelia_**

Dinner was approaching and although I hadn't eaten hardly anything the entire day, eating wasn't what I was excited for. I got to sit around a table for a long period of time with Zuko! It sounded lame, but I was thrilled. Although, I really hoped that he hadn't heard our conversation about him earlier, or else he'd think that I only liked him for his royal position.

I ran into my bedroom to check how I looked before I sat down for dinner. I looked still looked nice from before. My hair was still in place and my make up wasn't smudged. I pinched my cheeks roughly to emphasize the blush on my cheeks. I smiled at myself in the mirror before heading to the dining room. I sat down on my designated cushion in between Azula and Seren. Ty Lee, Mai, and Kamilah weren't there yet, and none of the boys were either.

"What are we doing tonight?" I asked the other two girls.

"Not sure, what do you guys want to do?" Azula asked Seren and I.

"We could all go to the beach and do something there?" Seren suggested.

"Sounds good." Azula said and the conversation ended. Ty Lee, Mai, and Kamilah entered together and shortly after Zuko, Kea and Asa all entered. Thankfully, Zuko sat directly across from me. He smiled at me and I blushed lightly while I quickly smiled back. Azula saw and rolled her eyes.

Zuko was such ahandsome young man. He had black hair that was pulled into the typical bun that all royalty wore, with the three pronged gold piece the symbolized his position. He had almond eyes that were like pools of liquid gold, identically matching the color of the the piece in his hair. His skin was very light and clear, and he was tall and lean, although built. Like Azula, he had high, prominent cheekbones and a high-arched nose.

After Kea had sat down, the last person to join the meal, ten servants came out from the kitchen and into the dining room, setting countless amounts of plates carrying various foods onto the long table we ate off. This was so different from Master Keanu's sanctuary. There I ate three small meals a day, and no meats. We usually ate fruits that grew on the trees nearby. Although Master Keanu was a firebender, he had visited the Earth Kingdom, Northern Water Tribe, and the destroyed Air Temples of the air nomads. He had become such a skilled firebender because he studied the ways and nature of all the elements and their benders; he influenced their techniques into his own bending. Fire is not restricted to direct offensive impact, it can flow gently and adapt like water, it can defend itself with endurance and stability like earth, and it can permit spiritual freedom and detach it's bender from concerns like air. What I'm trying to say, is that Master Keanu taught me not to limit the capacity of firebending based on the prejudice against other kinds of bending I was raised on in the Fire Nation. Although his converting to vegetarianism was a small example of him influencing his life with the culture of other kinds of bending, it shows that allowing yourself to surpass prejudice for the sake of your own bending and spiritual capacity, will make you one of the most powerful benders in the world. Master Keanu was such a powerful firebender because he didn't just use what he learned from the Fire Nation, he used what he learned from all the other kinds of bending. Master Keanu taught me a lot, and although I denied it with my friends and laughed about it, I revered Master Keanu for his wisdom, acceptance, and power.

"Aurelia, when you stop daydreaming, would you mind passing me the grapefruit?" I heard Azula's irritated voice pull me out of my thought train.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," I said and quickly leant for the grapefruit only to have it taken by a servant who quickly whisked it to Azula. She snickered at me and I rolled my eyes.

"So, what are we going to do after dinner?" I heard Ty Lee ask from a few seats to my right.

"We're going to the beach. Maybe we'll play a game of something." Azula stated. "Zuko, you're coming. Kea and Asa feel free to join."

"Do I not have a choice?" Zuko asked irritably.

"Come on Zuzu, do it for Aurelia." She puckered her lips and posed an artificial pout. I felt myself blush but my embarrassment quickly turned to anger and roughly hit her in the arm.

"Shut up, Azula!"

"Don't call me that!" Zuko yelled angrily at her.

"Spirits, I was only trying to help! I'm tired of trying to be a good sister," she looked at Zuko, "and a good friend," she looked at me, "and getting nothing but a slap and a scorn in return!" Azula exclaimed as she huffed and slumped in her chair. I played with the food on my plate with my chopsticks, chasing the rice as they repeated slipped out of the grasp of my chopsticks.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"What game did you have in mind, Zula?" Kamilah asked quietly.

"No idea. Any suggestions?" Azula asked all of us.

"Volleyball!" Ty Lee yelled happily.

"No," I said bleakly. Ty Lee pouted.

"What about frisbee?" Seren suggested.

"I'm not in the mood for physical exercise," Mai stated.

"Ooh, what about spin the bottle?" Ty Lee suggested in a sing-song voice. I sighed in aggravation as I rolled my eyes and slumped down in my seat. I could feel Mai doing the same.

"There are seven girls and three boys. Some of us are related too, so no thank you." Azula said with a look of disgust on her face.

"We could just go swimming?" Ty Lee said.

"Ugh, no." Someone said.

"Okay, _fine_. Let's just sit by a fire and mope," Ty Lee said in desperation.

"Sounds fun," I stated and most everyone agreed, Ty Lee groaned loudly.

The rest of the dinner was mostly small talk and silence, we all seemed pretty hungry. We left our dirty plates to be cleaned up by the servants and headed down to the beach. I walked with Mai and Taja and we made fun of Ty Lee as she went dancing down the steps.

Zuko and Azula gathered driftwood from around the beach and placed it in a large pile. I gathered a huge ball of fire in my hands and shot it at the wood. It started as a huge white fire but calmed into a golden bonfire.

"Why is your fire white and gold?" Seren asked me. Seren was a firebender. Everyone there was except for Mai, Ty Lee, and Kea.

"No idea." I stated simply while I stared into the fire. That was a little lie, I did know that it had to do with the fact that I was a bi-bender.

"My fire's blue, you know," Azula said in a 'shrug-it-off' kind of tone although nobody asked.

"Why is it that you two have different colors from everyone else, Zula?" Seren followed up.

"I think we just shoot hotter flames. It's natural," I could feel Azula's condescending smirk.

There was a long period of silence.

"Anyone want to come swimming with me?" Kamilah asked as she stood up and displaced her robe, heading toward the ocean.

"Yeah, Kamilah. I'll come," I said as I lay my robe next to hers. In all honesty, I really wanted to go swimming earlier but someone shot it down before I could agree to it. I had even snuck on my bathing suit in hope that someone would and I could join. It wasn't so much that I loved swimming, even being a waterbender I had barely any experience seriously swimming and I never really had a passion for the water. I wanted to swim so that I could show off how I looked. That sounds vain, yes, but training had made me very willowy, but while I was gone my boobs had still gotten much bigger and so had my hips. I sound completely conceited, but I really wanted to get Zuko's attention in one way or another. I knew that it was best that I not get into any intimate relationships with anyone, but I figured showing off was harmless. My bathing suit was a two piece that was plain, tight, and dark red at the top. The bottom was like a miniature skirt that barely passed half my thighs and was knotted at the right side.

I followed Kamilah into the water and went out deep in it, almost to my neck. We swam around each other and laughed, I actually began enjoying myself in the water. I looked to the beach to see them mostly sitting in silence, other than Mai and Azula who were talking and Kea, Asa, and Seren were looking out at us and talking with smiles on their faces. I looked at Zuko and saw him looking at me, our eyes locking for a second until Kamilah splashed water on me and I got distracted. Finally Kea, Asa, and Seren stood up and yelled at us, telling us they were coming in. Zuko quickly joined them as they slowly entered the water, hesitant because of it's coldness. I swam up next to the four of them.

"You get used to it, just go to your shoulders," I said as I swam around with Kamilah, my head slightly above the water. Eventually they all got as deep as us and started splashing around. I noticed a cave about twenty feet down the beach that rested between the sand and a huge rock that marked the end of the beach. I started swimming towards it and nobody followed, I had to maneuver between a few jagged rocks in order to get into the cave. It was high tide, so the only way into the cave was swimming. As I entered, the water quickly got shallow and soon enough I was standing on sand. I found a piece of driftwood in the sand and lit a flame on the end to make it a torch. There were little paintings in the wall of fire in colors of the sunset. It was beautiful.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of water lightly splashing against skin behind me, I quickly flipped around to see Zuko standing in the sand. I let out a relieved sigh, but I wasn't sure why. Zuko was now standing in front of me, shirtless, alone, his body highlighted by the moon on his back and the flame in my hands to his chest. I wasn't sure if I could handle a sappy, heart-to-heart reunion with him like this. I could feel my face redden and I laughed uncomfortably.

"Hi," he said with a smile.

"Hello," I said with a surprising cool and collected tone.

"What are you doing?" He asked me with true curiosity, walking over to me slowly. My heart quickened.

"Looking at the paintings." I said as I looked up at the painted fire against the cave wall and I raised my torch for him to see better.

"Is that fire?"

"Yeah."

"It's so colorful."

"It's beautiful," I stated. I looked at the beautiful colors painting the cave walls. This is what fire was. These paintings must have been old, because ever since the Fire Nation attacked, fire hadn't been like this. It had been red, the color of blood, and black, for destruction. Few firebenders nowadays would identify this as the firebender's weapon. Fire was beautiful, it was light.

"It is." Zuko agreed, I looked at him to find him already looking at me. I smiled and handed him my torch without approval. I gathered a ball of fire in my hands and shot it down the cave. It flew down the cave, and eventually disappeared.

"Maybe I'll go down this cave one day, I want to see where it goes," I stated.

"You shouldn't go alone, it could be dangerous," Zuko said.

"I'll bring you." I said, and he smiled. I sat down in the sand, looking up at the walls of fire. I didn't know how I was playing it so cool, but I didn't question it.

"So… How was training with Master Keanu?" Zuko asked, sitting next to me, planting the torch in the sand in between us.

"Three years of long, strenuous work and an excessive amount of meditating," I replied slowly.

"Three years went by so long, I missed you," he said longingly. I looked at him.

"I missed you too."

"You're so lucky you got to train with Master Keanu, I've heard he's the greatest firebender of our time," Zuko said.

"He is. He's the smartest man I've ever met," I confided in him.

"Smartest?" Zuko questioned my word choice.

"Yes. He is an intellectual. Somehow he defeats prejudice and sees no boundaries between the four elements. He uses it to strengthen him, that is why he is such a powerful bender," I told Zuko. It was probably not the brightest idea to tell the Crown Prince that his nation was practically the origin of prejudice, but I trusted Zuko.

"He sounds a lot like my uncle," Zuko said quietly. I laughed lightly.

"You're right, I never realized it but he and Iroh are very similar," I said. "Anyways, how has life been these past three years?" I asked him.

"Generally unexciting, repetitive, predictable," he said, picking out each word he wanted to use slowly.

"That sounds pretty boring."

"It was," Zuko said solemnly, before taking a deep breath. "You know, you meant a lot to me and you still do. When you were gone there just wasn't a lot to look forward to," he said and I blushed.

"I would have tried to resist my father more forcibly if I knew that. But, when I left you hardly even talked to me. I wish I would have known that I still meant something to you. I probably could have found a way to stay, but I thought that you had forgotten about me so I didn't argue that much," I said sadly.

He looked at me and I felt my eyes meet his. "I would never forget about you, it's just that after my mom disappeared I lost the person that meant most in the world to me. My only family left didn't even care about me. I should have gone to you, because you were going through the same thing, we could have helped each other. But, I closed off in grief. When I heard that you left I felt terrible because I felt like I had completely cleared you out of my life. I didn't want that, I just let the grief consume my life," Zuko said and I nodded at this slowly. I said nothing, and let us sit in the silence, watching the flame of my torch give light to make it look as if the the fire on the cave walls was igniting.

**_Zuko_**

While Aurelia seemed to be lost in the painting of the cave walls, I was lost in the way she looked with the small flame's light flickering against her face. Her long, coal black eyelashes created shadows against her eyelids. The irises of her eyes looked like the sun, golden white and resembling the flames she created. All the green in them was gone, fire being the only thing in the cave of her eyes to absorb and reflect. Her skin still looked cloud white, regardless of the orange and yellow fire. Her brown hair was still braided in it's intricate design but messily, her time swimming having disrupted it's smooth flow. Although, it still looked rich and lustrous as always. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, and I would never believe that of all the handsome noblemen of the Fire Nation that she would choose me. They all thought that she was divine. _Probably because I'm the crown prince, _the thought came to me as it always does, reminding me of reality. I figured either way, whether she really loves me or not, if I get her in the end that was all that mattered. Although this was a satisfying idea, it was not completely satiating. If the truth was she only loved me for his position, a part of my heart would always ache.

I saw the faint black smudges under Aurelia's eyes and leaned forward to wipe them off of her face gently with my thumb. She shuddered a little, not expecting the contact, but eased at the familiar warmth of my hands. "You don't need any make up ever, Aurelia. You're so beautiful without it." I could feel the heat of her cheeks blushing on my palms as I finished wiping away the last of her make up.

"Thank you. That is very sweet of you to say," she said formally. I don't know why she was detaching herself from me, like she was taking some defensive stance. I felt my blood temperature rise but when I looked back into her golden-white eyes, she wasn't defensive but scared. She was so much different than when she left. Master Keanu must have broken her old self down and let her build herself again. She was completely different. Before she left she was unfeeling to people, sometimes I could draw the love and happiness out of her, but she was always so afraid of people getting into her mind and reading her blueprints. She was forbidding and distant. I considered myself lucky to not draw only anger from her some days. I never knew what made her so angry, she would never tell me, but she would just erupt from nowhere and destroy everything around her. I was scared that she may still do that, but as long as she let me in then I would be completely content. Now, I saw in her eyes raw fear and vulnerability, something she'd rather be dead than show me before she left.

"Why are you afraid?" I asked her quietly.

"Because I can't invest my feelings into anyone." She said, and with this I expected her to draw away, but she didn't. She stayed in my hands.

"Why?" I asked hopelessly but not letting desperation creep into my tone.

"I wish I could tell you," she said sadly, mirroring the hopelessness on my face.

"Don't be afraid of me, Aurelia. I loved you, I still do. Please feel something for me," I pleaded. I knew how vulnerable I sounded, but her eyes showed much more vulnerability.

"I can't," she said but ironically leaned farther into my hand and passionately kissed me, powerfully pushing her lips to mine. I felt the distinct feeling of fire rippling through my blood. This happened whenever I was in complete states of emotion, particularly passion. The couple of times I had kissed Aurelia before my mother disappeared, this familiar feeling of fiery passion gushing through my blood vessels appeared. It was like a shot of adrenaline. She set me on fire; a fire I couldn't control, something that was a rare occurrence.

This feeling was only temporary as she broke away, looking helpless so close to me. I hugged her tightly, enclosing her slender body in mine. She was strong from her training and svelte from her years as a Fire Nation noble, but she broke down into a willowy creature as light and fragile as a feather against me. She didn't cry though, Aurelia never cried.

Her breathing was heavy and she rubbed her smooth forehead into my neck. I looked down at the living thing in my arms and I knew that I couldn't ever let anything hurt her. Regardless of the aloof and powerful stance she held in front of family and friends, I knew that wasn't her anymore and that she did need protecting. I would still have to discover why she wasn't allowed to invest her feelings in anyone, but I would find out.

**_Aurelia_**

I couldn't believe what I had just done! I had kissed Zuko. I wasn't supposed to get in any intimate relationships! I was leaving in six months! _But, you could do a lot as a couple in six months… _I scorned myself at this thought, I would be completely disobeying Master Keanu. _You've always disobeyed authority to tend your own needs, why stop now? _My devious thoughts continued. No! _Yes._

I wanted more than anything to tell Zuko of my dilemma but I knew I couldn't. I knew he would also give his opinion biased, too. I would present the alternatives: _should I follow Master Keanu's instructions or follow what my heart wanted? _It wasn't just my heart, god damn it, it was all of me! All of me wanted him except that little obedient and logical piece of my brain that wanted me to follow instructions. Zuko would obviously say follow my heart, because that would mean I would be with him! I couldn't ask him.

Who could help me? I obviously couldn't solve this by myself. I needed someone who would give me an honest, biased answer. A friend! Which though? Some of them would give me a biased answer because they wanted Zuko to themselves. After all, they had all agreed when Mai said he was the most handsome boy their age in Royal Caldera City. And not Azula, she would prefer me away from her brother. Her jealousy for me would also skyrocket if I ended up the Fire Lady. I smiled to myself at the thought of Zuko and I as the Fire Lord and Lady. _Stop it! It will never happen!_

Zuko leaned down to kiss me me again slowly, but I nudged my head to the side so he was kissing my jaw and neck. He pulled back and looked at me sadly.

"I don't not love you Zuko, I do. I don't know if I can be with you, though. Give me a day or two to figure out what I should do. I'm sorry that I can't explain everything to you, and if that's too much of an obstacle and you don't want to be with me then I completely understand. I'm trying to figure out what to do. I do love you though. Still." I said as I stood up from his arms and in front of him. He looked up at me and met my eyes.

"I love you too," he said. I smiled at him, happy that he could look beyond the confusion I presented to him and acknowledge what was important.

I stood next to the water and started wading in, looking back at him to signal him to join me, but he was already by my side. He reached out and held my hand as he pulled me into deeper waters until we both hovered about the sand surface, kicking our arms and legs to keep our heads above water.

"I'll race you back," Zuko said suggestively. I smiled brightly at him, happy that he still acknowledged our friendship through all this turmoil. I laughed and splashed water in his face while I started swimming quickly through the water, dodging the rocks. I heard him yell and call me a cheater, but I just laughed loudly and kept swimming. I technically could use my waterbending to ensure my victory, but it wasn't worth it. I knew he would let me win anyways, he would never want me to feel weak.

I flung myself on to the white sand, breathing heavily. I saw Zuko right on my tail, he probably could have won if I hadn't gotten a head start. He was strong and could push himself through the waves and currents. I was light and agile and could move with the tide to the shore.

Nobody else was on the beach; the fire that I lit had been put out but the smoke was still in the air. They must have recently left. We made our journey in a comfortable silence up the stone stairs that brought us to Zuko and Azula's palace and walked in through the back doors. Azula, Mai, Seren, and Asa sat in the loft room that the back door opened into.

"Well, well, well. It's a little past curfew, don't you think?" Azula smirked and glared at us.

"We were swimming," I said bluntly and went to leave the loft to head to my bedroom.

"Sure you were," Seren said and they all snickered but I just ignored them and continued on my way to my room. I suddenly stopped myself, remembering that I had to talk to someone about my dilemma. Who could I ask… I decided to use process of elimination.

Azula? No, for obvious reason. Ty Lee? Maybe. She'd probably just ask me about how far we've gone and if I loved him. Mai? I would say yes, after all Mai is conventional and straightforward. She wouldn't care if she hurt my feelings. But, she was the one earlier who pointed out that Zuko was the most handsome boy our age in Royal Caldera City. She could use her opinion against me to get to Zuko. Although Mai cared about me, she wasn't afraid to manipulate me. Seren? She's too outspoken and would compare us to her and Asa. Taja? She's straightforward and doesn't like Zuko like that, or at least not that much. She was a contender. And, she had experience. Kamilah? I would say her as an obvious yes, but she had never had a boyfriend and would be too soft about it. I decided to pay Taja a visit.

I knocked on her door. "Who is it?" Taja said sleepily. I hope I didn't wake her up.

"Aurelia."

"Oh, come in!" She said happily. She might have been faking exhaustion to avoid some people who could have paid her a visit. I walked in the room and saw her drinking a glass of wine and reading a thick book.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked her. Taja preferred hard over anything, trying to prove that she could take the burn. She was tough though, I wasn't surprised she liked the burn.

"I'm trying this new thing, you know, changing my aura, and that. It's for this new general who I've been talking to. He likes his women _sophisticated_, so I'm trying on 'middle aged' for a change, eh?" She smiled and me and I laughed loudly, she slammed down her book on the table, she never read. "But, it's _horrible. _I mean, I'd have to have half the bottle just to get a buzz, and it's only making me sleepy!" She exclaimed, walking over to her closet to pull out a large glass bottle of a clear liquid. She disappeared for a few moments and came back with two glasses.

"What is that?" I asked her.

"Something really god damned strong," she grunted and poured us two glass cup. She handed it to me and I took a sick, wincing as it slid down my throat.

"Shit, that burns!" I yelled and she nodded in agreement, taking a big sip. I did the same and winced at the fiery sensation.

"Anyways, what's up?" She asked me.

"Okay, I need your opinion on something. I chose to come to you because I figured that you were the best person to come to. I need a completely honest, unbiased opinion from someone who wants what's best for me," I said as I took another long sip of the liquor.

"Alright. Shoot."

"Okay, so. As you know, Zuko and I, are kind of—" She interrupted me after taking a large sip.

"_In love with each other?_ Yeah, I'm well-aware. We all are." She snorted and took another sip. So did I.

"Whatever. Regardless, Master Keanu advised that I not get in any intimate relationships while I was here, because I might be leaving in a few months. _Don't _ask why. _Don't _tell anybody. But, I just might be. So he said that it would be best for me to not, seeing I might just end up lonely and broken-hearted. But, we were just talking and he loves me still! And, I love him! I don't know what to do!" I groaned, refilling my glass and taking another mouthful.

Taja looked at me, then at the floor, then back at me, then at the wall for a good five minutes. I could already feel that numb sensation in my tongue that I get when I drink and felt my brain start jumbling up.

"I think that you should—" She started saying but I interrupted, slurring very lightly.

"And _don't _say some cheap shit like 'follow your heart', choose one of the two alternatives!" I yelled and she shushed me.

"I wasn't going to!" She pointed a wobbly finger at me. We both took long sips. "I was going to say, I think you should be with Zuko. And I'm not talking about you guys confessing your love and not really doing anything about it, I'm talking about a serious relationship! It's about time, before you guys stopped talking—before you left to train—you guys were so secretive and unofficial, it's time to make it official! _Everyone's_ been waiting for this." She said drunkenly. This stuff was strong. I took another sip.

"Yes! A decision!" I looked up at the sky and spread my arms thankful took a double take, thinking about Master Keanu. "But… Won't it just break my heart all over again to leave him!" I finished off my glass and Taja poured me another.

"Don't leave!"

"It's inevitable. I cannot tell you why."

"Fine. Whatever. But it will be worth it, better you spend these next few months with a boyfriend than without!" She said happily and I agreed. I decided on being with Zuko.

We spent next hour and a half drinking until we couldn't walk and somehow landed in the loft, passed out. I knew the next day I would, suffice to say, not feel too well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okayyy chapter three is up. I've been completely on time so far but heading into September, that might change. Also, I said before that this might be multiple stories but the chapters are so big that i might just do two parts in one story. I don't know, we'll see.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**_Aurelia_**

I woke up on the maroon daybed in the loft to Azula's aggravating voice.

"Are you serious, you guys?" Azula said angrily. I opened my eyes to see Azula with steam wafting up from both her ears. Ty Lee, Asa, Seren, and Zuko were near her. Ty Lee was laughing at Taja as she tried to sling the drowsy girl over her shoulders to take her to her room. Ty Lee was such a good friend. I sat up and pushed back my hair, looking for any vomit around me. Thankfully, I found none. Although, a second later I heard my stomach growl and I cursed, running to the back door to open it and puking to the side so nobody could see. I also took the benefit of being out of sight to rub my eyes and smooth out my dress. I looked down to see I was still in my bathing suit though, and cursed again. I undid my hair from it's messy braids and walked back in, laying back down in the daybed. Azula groaned loudly and started making her way over to me to help me get to my room, but Zuko pushed her away and put one arm under my knees and the other under my arms, starting to carry me to my room. I closed my eyes sleepily and tucked my head in closer to Zuko's chest. He was so warm.

**_Zuko_**

She still looked beautiful, even in the midst of a brutal hangover and having just vomited. Her hair was a wavy mess, her lipstick was smudged a bit, and her bathing suit was loose and crinkled, but she still looked as beautiful as always.

When we got to her room, I set her on her bed and asked her if she wanted to change, knowing that the bathing suit was not comfortable. She said she would but wanted to wash off quickly.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked the headache-ridden girl.

"No, no, please stay. I need help with some things," she muttered as she rubbed her temples, walking into the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on and I paced her room. I called in to the servants to fetch a tea that would best help for headaches and nausea. I was quickly given a large porcelain teacup that was steaming with a beige tea. I set it on her bedside table and pulled back the covers for her. I also asked the servants for a large chamber pot in case Aurelia got sick to her stomach again. The pot arrived just before I heard the shower turn off. I sat down in a red chair across from the bed, waiting patiently for her to step out of the bathroom. She did, towel clad and with dripping hair and matted wet eyelashes. She looked helpless, but still beautiful.

"Can you get me my robe?" She asked me meekly as she walked behind a red folding screen so I couldn't see her. I walked towards her closet, all of her clothing already unpacked. I saw a stack of folded red robes with golden accents. I put it on the top of the folding screen and watched as it disappeared. Within seconds, Aurelia was walking towards her bed in her little red robe. She noticed the chamber pot and tea as she tucked herself under the sheets and looked at me curiously, her eyes wide. They were green now, a very light and crystalized green.

"If you throw up again," I said as I pointed to the chamber pot, "and I asked the servants for a tea that helps with headaches and nausea. I hope it helps." I said as I smiled hopefully and turned around, beginning to walk out of the room, hoping she would ask me to stay.

"Wait," she said, I smiled to myself and cleared my face before turning back around. "Can you stay with me? Only if you want, of course," she said, but she knew I would stay because her fingers were patting the spot next to her on her enormous bed as she said that. I took up the offering without question and she pulled back the covers for me to get in. I kicked off my shoes and crawled in next to her, not too close though. I wasn't getting too close until I got her final answer.

She took a long sip from her tea, and it seemed to immediately soothe her, because she sighed blissfully and sunk down lower into the bed. The sun hit her in the eyes and she winced, trying to shield her eyes. She was a firebender, and so she got her energy from the sun, but right now she needed the comfort of a shaded room, so I got up and drew the shades for her. I returned to my spot on her bed afterwards.

"Thank you," she said quietly before closing her eyes. I thought she was going to sleep, but she talked to me. "I've made my decision." She said contently.

"Really?" I asked quickly, probably making myself sound desperate. I tried to play it cool. "Well, uh, what do you want to do?"

"I've decided that, although my decision will cause me a great sadness when I leave the Fire Nation, I want to be with you. I'd rather be happy with you for a short period of time and suffer the heartbreak of leaving than not be with you until… Well, for who knows how long. I've already lost you once and I don't want to lose you again because I love you." She said, finally opening her eyes when she finished and looked at me. She didn't have much time to look though because I quickly tackled her in a hug out of relief and joy and pressed her body as tightly as possible against mine. I kissed her neck and her cheeks and her eyelids and forehead until I finally brushed my lips against hers softly and felt her giggling underneath me. I kissed her neck again and buried my face in her damp hair, smelling the scent of soap. She usually smelled like fresh air and honeysuckle, but her shower replaced that.

"I'm so happy you chose that," I whispered into her smooth, white skin.

"Me too," she said quietly and I could feel her smile on my skin. She pulled away a little so that she could lay down and put her head on my shoulder, draping her arm over my chest to my side. She yawned and closed her eyes, I looked down at her face and saw her long lashes laying against her cheeks. She looked at ease. She hardly ever looked like that.

"I love you too." I said, remembering that I had never returned her statement earlier. She smiled lightly.

"Please don't ever close me off again," she said after a few minutes of silence in a sleepy voice, barely holding on to consciousness.

"I won't ever again," I promised her and kissed her forehead before slipping into a nap myself.

**_Azula_**

"I challenge you to a match, Azula," Seren said with a smirk. I laughed to myself, did Seren actually think she had a chance at beating me? I was the greatest firebender in this whole palace. Well, except for Aurelia, _maybe_. She was my greatest competitor, with Zuko as a runner up. Zuko was nowhere near as talented a firebender as I was, but I couldn't deny that he was talented. He just wasn't a natural though, he had to practice all the time. I, on the other hand, was born lucky. Even my father said so. He said that I was born lucky, and that Zuko was lucky to be born.

"Challenge accepted, ready to lose?" I asked Seren nonchalantly.

"Not today, Zula," she said and placed herself the proper distance away from me on the stone court in the backyard of my palace. "No dirty play."

"Fine, you want to play clean? Let's play clean," I said and we both took fighting stances. She stayed in a defensive position, signaling me to make the first blow. I gathered a large blue flame in my hands and shot it at her face. An easy hit to avoid, but a good distraction. She crossed her forearms in front of her face and pushed the flames back, instantly reversing her hand and sending engulfing flames at me with her palm as I ran up the wall of the court, using fire to keep me up against the wall. I jumped off the wall and interfered her flames and turned them back onto her. I preferred my own flames, though, they were much hotter and dangerous.

She strengthened her stance to the ground and blocked the flames with her arms again. I had gotten closer to her from my wall run and she evaded me, as she usually does, and lifted herself far in the air with flames sprouting from her hands. She landed back where I started.

"You can't always run away, Seren," I scolded and she grunted as she shot a long stream of flames at my feet. I jumped up in the air and propelled myself with flames farther into the air. I quickly rotated my body sideways and sent a horizontal wave of flames with my foot as it kicked through the air. She was caught off guard by this and jumped a foot in the air last second. I started laughing at her weak reflexes and she rolled her eyes. She started closing in on me, which surprised me because she usually spends all of her energy defending herself when she fights. We circled each other in silence and she started sending continuous fire balls, alternating the flames' origin between her right and left palms. I dodged each one until she started shooting larger ones from both her hands at the same time. She was getting better, I had to admit. She was still an easy fight, though.

I collected an enormous flame from all that she was throwing at me and adding my own fire to it and shot it at her. It hit her slightly as she threw herself to the side, hitting the wall.

"That's dirty play!" Seren exclaimed, looking at Mai desperately as she sat watching us.

"_How _is that dirty play?" I asked Seren.

"She didn't do anything, Seren," Mai said monotonously. Seren grunted and slid to the floor of the court.

"You're getting better Seren, but you need to still work on offensive stances. You can't completely rely on defense. What are you, from the Water Tribes?" I asked her sardonically and Mai started laughing. As she did, Zuko, Ty Lee, and Aurelia came out of the palace back doors. I was thankful not to see Zuko and Aurelia holding hands. The image in my mind made me nauseous.

Who was she to date my brother! Well, I guess I should be thankful they're not dating, they're just like forbidden lovers, or whatever. Some dumb shit. She's my best friend! How could she even think about pursuing my brother? That was a bad move of hers, and if they got back together I would never forgive them for it. She was probably just into him because he was the Crown Prince! Aurelia was all and only about gaining power. She was a conniving, manipulative bitch who did whatever she had to do to be on top. That's why I loved her, after all.

"Victory once again for Princess Azula!" Aurelia sneered.

"Not to brag, but I'm feeling a little _completely unbeatable_ as of this moment. In fact, I challenge you to a match, Aurelia. Unless you're scared, then I understand. I would be too, if I were you of course," Azula boasted as she stood in front of Aurelia, who was sitting next to Mai and Zuko. She had changed from last night's bathing suit into a maroon dress that was long and fitting. It was low-cut and had long sleeves the color of the dress. The sleeves were sheer though and had gold embellishments in lines made of miniature leaves and flowers that crossed over each other. She was always one to dress rather formally, but it suited her. It made her look even more formidable than she already looked, with her white skin, dark lips and angular eyebrows.

"Alright, fine. I'm feeling better anyways," she stood up and took her place on the court where Seren had been. She was never one to decline an invitation.

**_Aurelia_**

My, was Azula in for it. She thought she could still take me. Before I had left we would duel all the time, and I would win usually half of the time. We were of completely equal skill then, but now I was, no doubt, dozens of times better than her. She had been training with the Lo and Li and the firebending coach of the Royal Palace all this time, and I had been training with Master Keanu. The firebending coach at the Royal Palace was called Master Yukio. He was an extremely talented firebender and coach, but Master Keanu was far better. Master Keanu invented many sets and stances of his own, and he had taught me them all. Nobody else other than him and his students knows them. I was never sure why Fire Lord Ozai didn't send Azula and Zuko to Master Keanu, but I could assume that it had something to do with his questionable faith to the Fire Lord and his regime. It was easy for me to tell that he didn't support the war and believed that the Fire Lord and his regime were unwise and destroying the world. He believed in the unification of all the benders, and the Fire Lord believed in the Fire Nation ruling the earth.

"Are we following rules? Or playing dirty?" I asked.

"Let's play this right, follow the rules," Azula ordered. I nodded my head and took a fighting stance; Azula mirrored this. I waited for her to strike. I had heard her criticizing the traditional Water Tribe tactic that focuses on defense, and so naturally I focused on my defense, just to piss her off when I won. She thought that offensive strength was more powerful than defensive, when they were actually equals. A warrior will spend their whole life trying to maintain balance between offense and defense when they fight.

She noticed my defense and quickly created a ball of fire in her hands, and then sent it off towards my chest. I easily dodged this and started running to the right wall, sending different sets of flames every two steps I took. She blocked them with her arms and slid her foot in a circle along the ground until she kicked it upwards, sending a large ball of blue fire at me. I gathered it in my hands, though, and swung it back around at her. She barely dodged it and stumbled onto the ground.

I enclosed on her and continually pushed outwards with my palms, sending blasts of flame at her as she backed up. She slid beneath my arm though, and sent a kick of flames at my back. I felt the fire graze my back before I whipped around and halted the fire. I threw my arms in multiple circles forming a fire in my hands and jumped up high in the air, spinning my body in a circle before kicking the fire in her face. She managed to gather the flames in her own hands though and throw it back. I blocked the fire with my forearms.

She began kicking little balls of flames at me until I twisted in a circle and sent all the flames back towards her. She jumped up to avoid these and began propelling herself in the air with flames as jets. I couldn't pinpoint a specific coordinate to launch the fireball at so I formed a massive net of fire around me and pushed it upwards, burning everything above me. I heard her curse as the flame hit her and she fell to the ground, but I could feel her landing on her feet behind me.

I swung myself up into the air and sent large shots of white fire at her with every limb. I landed on the ground and we both pushed with all of our fire power at eachother, creating a tall wall of our fires that cascaded in sparks in flames like a waterfall. My fire was stronger though, and it broke and devoured hers. I discontinued my wall of fire, and while the wall faded I quickly ran into it, using my forearms to block the heat. I swung my arms out and to the ground, slamming my palms to the ground. This sent a ripple of flames like tidal waves towards Azula, and she parted her way through them uneasily. When my hands hit the ground, I pushed them deeply into the ground as I saw in the corner of my eyes, a thick cylinder of fire growing around me. I slowly moved my arms around me, growing my cylinder taller and thicker. Azula sent countless electric blue flames at me but the cylinder was impenetrable. Inside of it, I found peace and separated the negative and positive energy that was held in my cylinder of protection. I felt the electric charges in the air, wanting more than anything to restore the balance. I quickly let my cylinder fly off all around me as my fingertips guided the lightning's way through my body, wanting more than anything to erupt and let the negative and positive energy clash back together. I slowly extended my arm and straightened my fingers and I looked down at her as I lowered my arm. She lay on the ground, I could see she was angry at herself for being defeated. I raised my arm back up to the sky and let the lightening pulse through my body as it shot out my arm and into the sky.

Smoke rose around me and Azula huffed angrily.

"I need to learn that force field set. Where did you learn it? I've never seen that before! Not even Father can do that!" She exclaimed angrily as she fixed her hair and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"I thought defense was only for waterbenders, Zula? Why would you have any interest in that?" I asked her sarcastically and someone behind me laughed.

"Holy shit, Lia, I though you were going to electrocute her for a second there," Mai exclaimed.

"That was amazing, Lia. Where did you learn that?" Seren asked me urgently.

"That was _incredible_, Aurelia. I've never seen anything like your last set," Zuko commented, I smiled at his support. Azula rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Teach me how!" She commanded and I went back out to the court to start trying to teach her. She had a lot of trouble with it, and hadn't completely gotten it down when we finished. Her force field was still spotty and could be penetrated. That set was about defense, something she had displayed evident resent to. The set was inspired by an earthbending defense style, actually, not waterbending. Master Keanu taught me it. Like an earthbender, you rose your defense from the ground and it was impenetrable, like rock and earth. As long as you persisted through the heat of the cylinder and kept a strong foot in the ground, your flames would endure any amount of energy being thrown against it.

The next few days Azula forced me outside every day to help her learn more sets. She got a few down, but a lot of them originated from other bending forms, and she had to understand the elemental aspect of each form in order to master it. I taught her all of the Fire Nation sets Master Keanu had taught me though, and she picked those up very easily.

I didn't get to spend that much time alone with Zuko, with Azula always forcing me to train with her. Although, after four nights of being on the island, Zuko took me to a play at the Ember Island Theatre. We had to both slip out of the house at different times, seeing that if Azula found out she would have a fit.

"What is it we're seeing again?" I asked with apathy as my eyes scanned the entirety of my bag of sizzle-crisps, looking for the perfect crisp to eat.

"Love Amongst the Dragons," he said sadly. He had told me earlier that we were going to see "some cool action thing", which I had been excited for, but then we found out that that play was performed the previous night, and now some dumb romantic play was being performed.

"Didn't we used to see this when we were kids?" I asked him, faintly recognizing the title.

"Yes. With Azula and our mothers," he said. Now I knew why he sounded sad, the play had probably reminded him of her. Grief was beginning to crawl into my mind as well. But, I wouldn't let it ruin our night. I needed to move on from the past, and so did he. Ember Island let me slip back into the whirlwind tunnel of the past, but Master Keanu had pulled me back. I now realized that, for the past three years, Zuko had been living in a nightmare of constantly being reminded of his mother every step he took in the palace. He had no escape like I did, and no one ever to comfort him. It wasn't fair that I got refuge from that trauma, and Zuko had no means of it.

I set my sizzle-crisps to my side that Zuko wasn't sitting near and tucked my head into his neck. He wrapped his arm around my back and pulled me in to him closer. I felt bad, I was the one who insisted that we go to the theatre anyways after learning that we had missed the show we wanted to see. I hadn't even recognized the play's name or even the sad look on his face when we walked into the theatre. I kissed the part of his neck where I could feel his pulse with my lips and set the side of my head back on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't even recognize the play's name. I'm being insensitive."

"No you're not, you just didn't recognize it is all," he said, but his voice still sounded mournful.

"No, I didn't even realize that it made you sad. It's my fault, I'm sorry. Do you want to go somewhere else?" I asked him hopefully. He didn't say anything for a few moments but then looked down at me, who was looking up at his eyes curiously. He kissed me lightly before nodding his head and letting me stand up. He grabbed my sizzle-crisps and and followed me outside of the theatre. "Where do you want to go?" I asked him, having some more crisps. I picked up one and held it near his mouth, twirling it around closer to his mouth while he eyed it with a grin, keeping his mouth sealed. I snuck it in to his mouth when he answered me and started laughing loudly as I fed myself some more crisps.

"I don't care. There's not that much to do here, anyways. I don't get why people love it so much," he said solemnly. I could tell he was still saddened by before, I would have to really distract him to get his mind off of it.

"I agree," I said loudly. We started walking and as we walked farther away from the building, it got darker, so I lit up a little flame in my hands. After a few minutes of walking in the dark silence, Zuko slid his hand in between mine and the fire, fascinated by it's white and gold coloring. He stole the fire from me and watched as it maintained it's color in his hands.

"I wish my fire was a different color," he said.

"I think your fire is pretty," I said with a serious smile and he glared at me playfully, looking back at the fire in his hands and trying to expand it, but only finding it peel away into orange as he did so. I put my hands under both of his and lit up a large fire in his hands. I pulled away my hands and let him hold it. He seemed completely bemused by it's shade. We kept walking and I watched him stare into the fire.

It started getting lighter and we saw the local town in the distance. It was small and about two miles from the beach. But it was always crowded, no matter night or day. The town was full of venders and tourists. I knew Zuko hated the town, but I forcibly proceeded onwards.

We pulled into the center courtyard of the town and Zuko had to barricade us with his arms from the venders. He kept his arm firmly wrapped around my waist as he told off the vendors. One started picking a fight with him, obviously not recognizing who he was, and I released myself from his grasp to go to an older woman who had a woven basket full of carnations. I looked at a beautiful blood red carnation. I fawned over that simple flower, and I hated myself for it. I wasn't _Ty Lee_. I didn't get all mushy for useless flowers. I wanted to hand back the flower to the old woman, but I couldn't.

I heard Zuko calling my name and I yelled: "Over here!" He traced my voice to the old woman with the basket of flowers.

"Your girlfriend seems to really love that flower. It's only a mere copper piece," the old woman said in a persuasive voice. Zuko handed her a silver piece instead and pulled me off with him, smiling, walking further into town. _Does this mean I'm his girlfriend? _I asked myself. I felt myself blush as I twirled the delicate flower in between my finger pads.

"Thank you," I said happily.

"Anything for you." He said sweetly as he kissed my temple and continued walking.

We walked through the town, often being greeted formally by Fire Nation citizens who recognized us in the dark lighting. When we finished my bag of sizzle-crisps, we decided to go to a restaurant. We both ordered komodo chicken and spiced tea. When we finished, we went to the beach.

I laid down on the beach with my back on the sand, as Zuko lit a fire and then sat on his knees, looking for shells through the sand. I decided to address a pressing issue that had been bothering me.

"Has you father planned on having you betrothed to anyone?" I asked calmly, looking up at the stars. His shell-search temporarily seized, but I could feel him starting to search again next to me again.

"Well, it was all you initially. But, about a year prior to your arrival, he had started thinking about Mai and I. And also, Taja and I," he said quietly. I shot up out of the sand and sat up stiffly.

"But Mai's not even a bender!" I argued. "And Taja isn't… That good of a bender!" I huffed. I understood Fire Lord Ozai's consideration of Taja and Zuko, but Mai? Sure, she was plenty rich, but she couldn't even bend. The Fire Lord would never allow having nonbending grandchildren and heirs to the throne.

"Mai's father has become a very important figure in the war. My father wants to show his gratitude by giving him a marriage relation to the throne. I guess he really must be making Azula the heir if he would be okay with our nonbending children. And, Taja, I understand that. She's very rich and a talented firebender, to an extent. I think his heart is set on you though, he _loves _you. More than he ever loved me," Zuko said in a matter-of-fact kind of way. He didn't even sound pitiful, just as if it was a well-known fact.

"Zuko, your father loves you," I said earnestly.

"No. He really doesn't, but that's not what we're talking about. I think that now I'm back with you, things should be how they were. You'll be meeting with him when you arrive to the Royal Palace in Caldera City, anyways. I'm sure you two will talk about it then. But, if you're leaving again, then I don't know what will happen," he said, looking at me sadly.

I tried to think, trying to come to some possible solution that would result in Zuko and I being together, but nothing came. I groaned loudly and threw myself back down into the sand, this time with my face into the sand. I dug my nails deep into the sand, getting rocks deep under my nails. I knew that Tulia, Kairi, and the rest of my make up and clothing servants would be angry. They had just done a beautiful manicure on my fingernails and told me I had to be careful with them before I left for Ember Island. They were almost an inch long and were perfectly painted blood red. I liked them a lot, but they got in the way of things.

I heard Zuko sigh as he laid partly on me; tucking his head into my neck and hair. My face was still buried in my arms in the sand, so I couldn't see his face.

"It's going to be alright," he murmured into my hair. I whined childishly as he continued ensuring me softly in my ear that it would be okay. Eventually, I threw up my head.

"No it's not! I'd rather be dead than see you married to Mai! Or Taja!" I tried yelling but he hushed me.

"Don't worry. I won't let it happen, I'll just say that you and I will be married when you come back from this secret place you are going!" He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. It was weird that we were talking about our marriage, but we didn't really have any other possible steps in our relationship to take. It's not that we had done it all, it's that he was almost sixteen and I was fifteen. Most men and women were married by sixteen, and the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation was definitely going to be making heirs as soon as possible! That was one of his two central purposes: To rule the Fire Nation and create sufficient heirs to the throne. I was the only one he wanted to marry, and he would hate being married to someone else.

"Your father will not wait for my return!" I exclaimed.

"Yes he will! For you, I believe he would wait some time," he said.

"_Some time…_ Master Keanu said I'm probably not even returning to the Fire Nation after I leave. So I don't even know why we're having this discussion," I said hopelessly and looked down to the sand.

"Wait, _what?_" He asked urgently. "Can this guy please just leave you alone! He takes you away for three years, and then he takes you away _again_ permanently! Why can't he just let you live an average life in the Fire Nation! You could be Lady of the Fire Nation, isn't that good enough for him?" Zuko ranted with outrage. The fire that he had started was about a foot larger in height and girth.

I smiled at him calling me _the _Lady of the Fire Nation. As in, _his _Lady. He would be the Lord and I would be the Lady. Of the entire Fire Nation! And, then we'd have a couple little heirs to the throne. Little firebending babies between Zuko and I. I never really liked kids, at all, and I never had any interest in having them. But, if I was Lady of the Fire Nation, I would have no choice but to create heirs. And, they would be Zuko's babies anyways, so I was totally fine with that.

"Can you please just tell me why you're leaving?" He pled. I thought very carefully. It would probably be a horrible decision to tell anyone about my waterbending, but Zuko wasn't just anyone. He was the most important person to me, other than my father. He was understanding, well not really but with me he was, and wouldn't get mad. If I had to tell anyone, it would be him. He knew more about me than anyone, even Master Keanu, and I figured one more little thing about me wouldn't hurt.

I sat silent in the sand and he looked up at me despairingly. I looked into his miraculous pools of liquid gold and stood up. Walking over close to the water. I wasn't a very good waterbender, but I assumed that was why I was being shipped off to the North Pole.

I looked away from Zuko and focused on the water. The moon was out, and it wasn't completely full, but even the little rays of moonlight energized me. I realized this when I was very young, and compared myself to my mother and father, both firebenders. They went to bed early, claiming the moon made them weak, while I stayed awake in my bedroom. I would look out through my window with the moonlight shining down on me, and move around small droplets of water.

I rotated my hands upwards as a slow stream of saltwater flowed upwards with it. I moved my hands in circles around me as the water began twirling around me in a skinny stream. I eventually gathered the water in my hands in a large ball of it and walked over to Zuko with it, who looked frightened and awestruck at the same time. I used heat from my firebending and also a waterbending technique to turn the water to steam, watching it evaporate and disappear.

"What?" Zuko looked at me and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them widely. "What are you, the Avatar?" He asked loudly and I slammed my hands over his mouth.

"_No_! I am obviously not the Avatar!" I whispered sternly. "The next avatar is an airbender, or a waterbender if that one already died. I don't know. But I am not the Avatar, Zuko," I said and rolled my eyes.

"Well then, would you care to explain why and how you're _waterbending?_" He asked sardonically.

"Have you ever heard of bi-bending?" I asked him. He shook his head. "Bi-bending is when a bender can bend two opposing elements. Like fire and water, or air and earth. Master Keanu never really explained why I, of all people, could do this, except that I had the capacity to possess this skill. The purpose of bi-bending is to maintain balance in the world, not like the Avatar can, but just a smaller form of maintaining balance. Waterbending is really hard for me, though, and that's why I'm leaving soon. To go to the Northern Water Tribe, to train," I said hopelessly. There was no hope for us. If mastering firebending took three years, the bending I had grown up with, mastering waterbending was bound to take just as long, if not longer. In that case I would be at least seventeen when I returned back to the Fire Nation, and Zuko would be eighteen probably. By eighteen he would be married and probably have already had children. I didn't even know if I was returning home! It was completely hopeless. And I knew that Zuko was coming to the same conclusion that I was by the look on his face.

"Maybe… you can just not go to train in the Northern Water Tribe. Why would my father even let you anyways?" Zuko asked.

"He will force me to go. I will have no choice. He wouldn't even consider the benefits of our marriage once he finds out, all he will care about is having me master another bending form. Once I master waterbending, I will be more powerful than I already am. I will have two bending forms mastered, and I will be on Fire Lord Ozai's side. That is possibly why Master Keanu expects I will not return to the Fire Nation. He thinks I will not want to be on the Fire Lord's side, and will consequently live in voluntary exile outside of the Fire Nation," I said as I glowered at the ocean—something that was all too quickly becoming my enemy. It was taking me away from my home, my boyfriend, and any hopeful future as a Fire Nation noblewoman.

"What if my father never found out?" He asked.

"Master Keanu is coming to tell Fire Lord Ozai himself in a couple of months. He said six months, but I believe it will be shorter," I said, still staring at the ocean menacingly.

"This is terrible!" Zuko yelled when a short burst of fire came out of his mouth as he laid down on the sand.

"We have no choice. I guess we'll just have to enjoy the time that we have," I said. I lay down next to him and twisted my fingertips in loops in the air just above me, allowing little flames to dance around on my skin. Zuko wrapped his hand around my forearm and rubbed his thumb along my prominent blue vein.

"You're so much colder than any firebender I've ever met," he commented.

"I'm cold a lot. I think it has something to do with the waterbending," I said. He pulled me over him so that I was draped across him for the most part. I lay my head on his chest, creating flames with my fingertips to the beat of his heart. He was warm, much warmer than I had ever been naturally.

"What do you think my father would want you to do once you mastered waterbending?" He asked me softly, playing with my hair in his fingers.

"Make me train and command a fleet I suppose? I don't really know. He definitely will use me to his advantage in the war. It's kind of ironic, I'm a bi-bender to maintain balance, but he would use me to create an imbalance in his favor," I thought out loud.

"You sound like my father's using you in the war is a bad thing," he said calmly so I wouldn't think he was accusing me. "Would you want to not return to the Fire Nation after your waterbending training?" He asked curiously.

"No. I would want to come home. I don't want to wander around the world with no permanent abode, 'maintaining balance', like some peasant-nomad with a few extra tricks up her sleeve. I support Fire Lord Ozai. I want the Fire Nation to conquer the world," I said loudly. This statement was technically going against most things that Master Keanu had taught me, but I was angry with him. He wanted to rip me from my home so I could "bi-bend", but all I wanted was to stay here. I realized I had taken for granted how important to me staying in the Fire Nation Capital as a noblewoman was. There was nothing on the planet I wanted more than to stay in the Fire Nation and marry Zuko and live as a noblewoman in the victorious Fire Nation. I didn't even care that much if we became Lord and Lady of the Fire Nation. The noble life was good enough for me. I didn't ask to be a bi-bender, so why was I given this gift? There were dozens of citizens of other bending countries who would cherish this gift. Why was it given to me by the Spirits if I evidently didn't appreciate it or want it?

Zuko said nothing but continued playing with my hair. Eventually he sat up and pulled me towards him, kissing my neck and jaw until his lips reached my mouth. I kissed him back and felt heat gushing through my blood. Whenever I kissed him I felt eaten alive by a passionate and intense warmth. I couldn't help but feel vulnerable at this, and I always wondered if he felt it too or if it just felt like an ordinary kiss to him. Then again, I wasn't too familiar with what an ordinary kiss was, he was my first and only kiss. I had been pursued by many men all my life, and as I became older the intensity only increased. Like my mother advised me to do, I kept my standards high, but Zuko was the perfect boy, so I pursued him mutually. I was quite sure that I wasn't his first kiss, he was in the class above me and almost a year older than me. A lot of girls really liked him, not just because of his royalty but also because of his person. He was so handsome and kind—well, not kind to everyone but at least to me he was. I was self conscious towards this fact but let it slide and obviously never asked him. The older girls in his class hated me for it, because I was younger than them, but it was simply out of jealousy.

He wrapped his right arm tightly around my waist, clutching the material of my dress in his large hands. His other hand was on my arm. His lips poured kisses from my lips to my chin, then my jaw, and then to my neck. I had my head tilted back so he could even kiss my collarbones. I pushed my head down back to his lips, yearning for the heat of his kiss, and pushed his mouth against mine, feeling the surging flow of heat through my blood once again.

We stayed like that, kissing on the beach and talking, for a long while until the sky began to lighten with dawn. Time always flew by with him. We scolded ourselves and feared Azula's wrath together.

"Hopefully we can get in before she is up. She rises with the sun, and the sun hasn't risen yet. Let's hurry," Zuko said. We got home quickly and crawled into the palace through the back door. We kissed one last time before parting ways and then continued down our separate corridors. Azula never caught us.


	4. Chapter 4

**Next chapter is up! Also thank you too all who reads or favorites or follows, i love you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

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**Chapter Four**

**_Aurelia_**

The rest of our vacation at Ember Island flowed smoothly. Most days Azula ordered me to train with her or all of us went to the beach. Most nights I snuck out to the beach or to the town with Zuko, or we snuck into each others' rooms. Some nights we went out to dinner, but Azula hated it because the "waiters and waitresses weren't nearly as polite as the palace's servants".

When we arrived back at the Royal Palace in Caldera City I was offered my own room in the Royal Palace. I wasn't sure why this was, but I imagined that Zuko had somehow conveyed to someone in the palace that him and I were together again. I was about to turn down the offer, claiming that my home was only a short walk from the Royal Palace, but they insisted. I discovered that my room was an enormous, lavish suite connected to Zuko's. I thought he had suggested this because I would normally have been placed somewhere in Azula's wing. Sneaky boy.

My new suite was beautiful and draped in maroon and gold everything—from the gigantic bed with silk sheets to the long curtains that hung from the twenty-foot windows. The room was lit by huge metal torches on the walls. There were tall, red candles on most surfaces that were all alight, seeing I arrived when it was dark out. Along with my bedroom, I had my own bathroom, sitting room, dressing room, and eating area. There was a door in the sitting room that connected to Zuko's sitting room. Ten new servants were also assigned to me and my needs, and I was measured right when I arrived only to be presented with three long racks of new clothes, shoes, jewelry, and make up.

"What's this for?" I asked as one servant, Paccia, who was bringing in a large, leather box filled with jewels, no doubt.

"Tributes from Fire Lord Ozai," Paccia said readily. I knew that he had wanted to speak with me, Zuko had mentioned it before. Another servant that wasn't assigned to me entered my suite.

"Lady Aurelia, Fire Lord Ozai wishes to speak with you," he said politely. I knew speaking with the Fire Lord wasn't an option and I definitely wouldn't be allowed to 'rearrange the date', so I followed willingly. The servant led me through various corridors and large rooms until I reached the draping silk that hung over the entrance to the Throne Room.

The guards in front of the Throne Room began pushed open the silk at our presence. My eyes gaped as I saw the Throne Room for the first time. Inside were countless black pillars with elaborate gold bases that supported that dark ceiling, composed of large black and gold tiles. The floor was made of smooth, black tiles that reflected the ceiling. The room was very long, and across it was a raised platform surrounded in flickering orange and red flames. Fire Lord Ozai sat on the dais, engulfed in flames. The flames created shadows on his face that instilled fear in my mind. I had seen him before, but never looking so ruthlessly menacing. A dragon's portrait was printed on the wall behind him, looking just as forbidding as the Fire Lord himself. The guards left my side quickly and the silken entrance closed silently behind me. I straightened my posture as I slowly walked the long stroll across the expanse of the Throne Room. When I reached the Fire Lord on his throne, I bowed down to the ground immediately, resting for a while with my head to the ground and my arms extended before me.

"Aurelia, it has been a long time since I have seen your face. It is refreshing to see that you are even more beautiful than when you left," he said, his voice emotionless regardless of the compliment.

"Thank you, Fire Lord Ozai," I said politely. "I am glad to have returned back to the Fire Nation. It has been too long."

"It has. I am glad to see that my children and you have resumed your annual trip to Ember Island. How did that go?" He asked. I wondered for a moment why he didn't mention any of the other people who went

"It was splendid."

"And, how was training with Master Keanu?"

"Worthwhile. He is an exemplary firebender and teacher."

"I have heard so. I would send Azula to extend her mastery with him, but I have heard that he is unfaithful to the Fire Nation and it's regime. Would you agree with this statement?" He asked me and I didn't hesitate in my answer.

"I would not. I believe that he is training young firebenders only to benefit the Fire Nation and your forces." I knew that saying this would be extremely risky, but I couldn't rat out Master Keanu. I was almost sure that the Fire Lord trusted me, maybe if he heard anything differently then he would believe that I just saw his teachings from a different perspective.

"That is satisfying to hear. My daughter tells me that you have recommenced your relationship with my son, Zuko. Is this true?" He asked me. I felt exceptionally uncomfortable speaking to the Fire Lord about my romantic life with his son.

"Yes, that is true."

"Before you left to train with Master Keanu, Michiko and Ursa both came to me, suggesting the engagement of Zuko and you. I considered this, but when Ursa disappeared the subject was discontinued. I believe that it would be beneficial to both Zuko and you to resume the betrothal and have you married when you turn sixteen. I expect you to guide him as a firebender, the Lady of the Fire Nation, a wife, and a mother to his _firebending_ heirs. How clean is your ancestry?" He asked me.

There was so much coming at me at one time, my mind was buzzing. Was I going to say something about how I was due to leave for the Northern Water Tribe in six months? Would I pretend not to know about it? Maybe I could really convince him that I would be a beneficial match for Zuko and I wouldn't have to train! _And did he really just ask me how clean my ancestry was? _Only discriminative assholes asked firebenders this, and usually got beaten for it. He was asking if my ancestry was _clean_ of nonbenders. I had no idea how dreadful nonbending heirs to the throne was to him.

"My paternal grandmother was a nonbender. Everyone after that was a bender," I said. I really hoped that was alright, I needed this chance with Zuko. It was my only hope.

"That is satisfactory. Zuko will be informed shortly and a necklace of betrothal will be crafted by him and given to you. I would like to see you begin guiding my son as a firebender. Also, I would like you to know that your father has been informed about this engagement and approves of it. It was a pleasure seeing you, Aurelia. You are excused." He said firmly.

"Thank you, Fire Lord Ozai," I said gratefully and bowed again before turning and walking to the curtains that served as doors. I couldn't help smiling as I left the Throne Room.

When I returned to my room, I was offered any treatments at the Royal Spa in the palace.

"Do you have just one colossal treatment that covers everything?" I asked the servant who had initially offered. She smiled happily.

"Yes, of course. If you come with me I can take you to the Royal Spa now. We are ready to take care of you," she said politely and the doors to my sitting room opened. She waited for me to stand before leading me out of the room. We took hallways and went through rooms that looked the same as when I was taken to the Fire Lord's Throne Room, except I was taken to a completely different room. A _room_ was an understatement, though. The lobby of the spa was a mass of waterfalls and cherry blossoms, and a bunch of happy-looking people running around in golden robes. I was swept off my feet to a large, hazy room, and the sweetest-smelling one at that. It had a large golden tub filled with a frothing water that had little white flowers sitting on the surface of it. There were waterfalls the covered one wall and magnificent red and gold mosaics on two of the others.

"This is called the White Gardenia Room. Only royalty is permitted to use this room. The water is added with the extract from thousands of white gardenias every day, and mixed with honey. The honey moisturizes, softens, and smooths skin, while the white gardenia extract adds a beautiful scent and also gives radiance to the skin of whoever soaks in it. There are towels on a stand to the right of the waterfall wall, and a robe as well. When you are done, there is a door in the right mosaic. Walk right through it and you will be treated to a hair wash and condition. Do you have any questions? Or, is there anything else I can get you, my Lady?" She asked contently.

"You said that only royalty is permitted to use this room. Why am I allowed to? I'm not royalty," I asked her curiously.

"You are betrothed to the Crown Prince, Prince Zuko, correct?"

"Yes, as of precisely thirty minutes ago," I retorted.

"Then you are considered royalty in this spa," she said with a smile. "Any other questions?"

"No, I guess not. Thank you."

"You're welcome, and thank you for spending time with us here at the Royal Spa," she said readily and left the room quietly. Did news really travel _that _quickly in this palace? My, I wonder who else already knew.

I sat in the bath under the waterfall for a while, but when I noticed my finger pads starting to prune, I got out and dried myself. When I had put on my robe, I walked through the mosaic door. I had my hair soothingly scrubbed with white gardenia soap and conditioner, and had it slowly combed through. They put me in a bath that seemed entirely composed of perfumes, and it also numbed my skin a lot. I was later thankful for the numbing, because they followed that with waxing all the hair from my body. The fact that my skin was numb really helped though, because it didn't hurt all that much. They then massaged my entire body and put me in another perfume bath, but this one didn't numb my skin. I then whisked off to get my nails and toenails done, which I had done maroon, and got my make up done. I remembered what Zuko had said about me being beautiful without make up, and ordered then to only put a little on. They did something with my hair when I was getting my fingernails and toenails painted that left my straight hair in large, loose curls. I finally left in a new red dress, with new jewelry as well, and curled hair for the first time in my life. I couldn't wait to find Zuko. I just wanted to talk to him about the engagement.

**_Zuko_**

I was sitting in the courtyard with Uncle Iroh when he told me.

"So, I presume that you have heard of your own betrothal, am I correct?" He said warily. He never sounded like he was questioning himself, he was only cautious because he didn't want to reveal anything to me I wasn't allowed to know yet. Uncle Iroh was once held in high esteem by me, but ever since my father had taken his position as the Fire Lord, I've lost admiration for him. He was once such a powerful general, but after his son died he lost all ambition and gave up on his throne without a fight. He was incredibly wise, still, but I could never understand how he let his younger brother steal the throne from him, even if his younger brother _was _my father.

"What betrothal?" I asked urgently. "To who?"

"Lady Aurelia, my nephew. The Fire Lord spoke with her earlier today and informed her of the engagement. Your father expects you will greatly benefit from the intimate relationship with such an accomplished firebender. I suggest that you do train with her, she will teach you a lot. Your father will be impressed with your efforts as well," Uncle Iroh said soothingly.

I was thrilled to hear of my betrothal to Aurelia, something that I wanted to hear for so long, but I knew that it was too good to be true. Her waterbending training was inevitable. Once Father discovered that she was advantageous to the Fire Nation in the war, he wouldn't care that our betrothal was advantageous to me.

"Well, aren't you happy, Prince Zuko? You have loved Aurelia for a very long time, and she loves you too," Uncle Iroh said worriedly.

"No, no, Uncle Iroh. I am, I promise. I am grateful for my father's decision. In fact, I wish to speak with Aurelia of our engagement. Immediately," I said hesitantly. Uncle Iroh nodded and said that he saw Aurelia entering the Royal Spa earlier and that she was probably finished there. "Thank you, Uncle Iroh," I said.

"The pleasure is all mine, Prince Zuko," he smiled and took another sip of his ginseng tea before I turned around and left him. I headed for my room.

When I got there, I knocked on the door that connected both of our sitting rooms. I was offered elaborate treats as I walked in to my room, but shooed most of the servants away.

"My Prince, would you want me to knock on Lady Aurelia's door for you?" He asked me pleasantly, noticing that there was no response to my knocking. She probably couldn't hear it.

"Yes," I said as I followed him back out to the corridor and waited behind him and three other guards outside of Aurelia's front doors. They knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" Her delicate voice rang from behind the door. Regardless of the scenario, her voice always made my heartbeat quicken.

"Zuko," I said loudly and she immediately opened the door. Her face was like a fresh breeze when I saw her, and the lurking scent of some familiar flower drifted out of the room, intoxicating the corridor's air with her wonderful scent. She looked more alive than ever, with her white cheeks flushed and her eyes bright as diamonds glittering in the sun. Her hair was like a river, curled loosely and pouring over her shoulders, and she was clad in a new scarlet dress. She smiled widely when she saw me, her deep red lips stretching their width around her straight white teeth. Along with her ruby necklace was an anthracite chocker. Her fingers matched with the dark stone in ring forms, topped off with her pointed fingernails that matched her lips.

I rushed in and she hugged me, as I shooed away the servants, telling them to close the door and leave us. "Did you hear?" She asked happily.

"That we're officially betrothed? Yes, I did," I said gladly. She smiled widely and hugged me and kissed me. This was everything we had ever wanted, except it wasn't. She was still leaving. "You're leaving though, so the engagement is worthless. We won't even be married before you leave. And, what if my father finds out that you already knew about your training? He will be angry that he confirmed our betrothal with you knowing you were due to leave before the marriage could occur," I exclaimed.

"I suppose I will send a letter to Master Keanu that tells him to say I do not know of my training," she suggested, sitting down on a daybed across the room. She played with the ferns that hung over one side of the daybed.

"We can't avoid this ill luck. I can't devise any solution. You must train in the Northern Water Tribe," I said and looked at her. She looked so sad. I couldn't stand seeing her sad ever, it made me feel terrible, as if I had made her sad. I thought of a way to try and make her happier. "What if I left the Fire Nation?" I asked. That would be an enormous commitment, I would lose a lot. But, I would gain a lot, too. I would gain a life with Aurelia.

"No. I won't let you do that, and if you do, I'll turn you in to the Fire Lord. You will not give up royalty in the Fire Nation and the position of the Fire Lord for me. I will not allow you to live the nomadic peasant life that I will be forced to live. I'm sorry Zuko, but that is not a choice," she said. She was acting like she was my mother. My blood heated as poisonous anger took over me.

"Well maybe I want to give it up! It's not like I will even become Fire Lord, with the way my father regards me? And, you don't control what I do, so don't tell me what my options are. You should be flattered, I am willing to give up _everything_ for you. And instead, you scold me for wanting to be with you?" I asked angrily. She stood up, her eyebrows furrowed in anger and confusion, she pointed a sharp finger at me.

"I will not let you do that. I do not care if you _are_ the Prince of the Fire Nation, I'm telling you that you will not leave your life here for me, and that is _that_," she said slowly and lowly. "I should have just turned you down at Ember Island," she sighed and rubbed one of her temples. More anger heated my blood and I clenched my fists.

"Are you kidding me? After everything, you're now saying that you wished that you'd turned me down at Ember Island? It's really great to see how much our relationship means to you, seeing that you wish it _hadn't happened_," I exclaimed sardonically.

"I don't wish it hadn't happened, but I wish I'd listened to Master Keanu—" I interrupted her.

"Will you shut up about Master fucking Keanu?" I yelled. "I'll never understand why you worship him so much! He's just some old head case who won't let you live your own life! Why would you listen to him if he just wants to tear us apart?" I asked, my voice booming. I should have lowered it, but I couldn't make myself.

"Master Keanu is _not_ a head case! He's a genius and he completely changed me as a person! And, for the better! And maybe the new, better person that I am isn't compatible with you like the old me was," she stated and opened the doors to her room, grunting at the weight, before leaving angrily. _What did I just do?_

"Aurelia…" I groaned as I rubbed my temple. I opened the doors and chased her down the hallway in vain.

**_Iroh_**

I was sitting in the courtyard garden, drinking my ginseng tea, when I saw Lady Aurelia running out of the palace. She stood for a minute when she got there, but then grunted angrily and loudly, slamming her hand to her forehead. She was such a beautiful girl, the loveliest I had ever seen. Zuko was so lucky to have such a radiant bride.

"Lady Aurelia!" I called her. She looked at me and smiled halfheartedly. She had changed a lot in the past three years, and I could see in her eyes that she was, somehow, a different person.

"Hello General Iroh," she walked over to me and bowed.

"Oh, please, Aurelia. My days as a general are long over! Just call me Iroh," I said with a chuckle. She nodded as she sat down next to me, the blossom tree behind her bringing out the rosy flush in her cheeks.

"How have you been, these past years, Iroh?" She asked me.

"Very pleasant. Placid. How have yours been?" I asked her.

"Alright. I learned a lot with Master Keanu," she said.

"Ah, Master Keanu. He is one of the greatest men I have ever met," I said. "I trained with him for about a year as a child," I said, reminiscing on the memories of my training.

"I'm glad someone else can appreciate him," she commented satirically.

"This has something to do with my nephew, Prince Zuko, am I correct?" I asked. She looked down and nodded slightly. "Let me tell you, Aurelia, my nephew is a great young man. His father, unfortunately, does not give him the credit he deserves. He often says things that he doesn't mean, or communicates them in a way that makes him seem like he is angry with you, when truly he just feels vulnerable. The prince is afraid of being seen as vulnerable because he believes his father's greatest failure is himself, Prince Zuko, and his cowardice. Although, it is important that I mention to you that Prince Zuko is not a coward. He is a very strong-willed and tenacious young prince, with a large heart. Never let a large heart be mistaken for cowardice," I said.

I felt it was vital that I tell Aurelia this. She needed to understand some things about Prince Zuko before she spent the rest of her life with him. I wanted her to know that he, also, was not what his father had played him out to be. Ozai was a stubborn, foolish man with a misconception of his own children. He believed that Zuko was a coward, because he was not a ruthless fighter like Azula was. He believed Azula was a powerful warrior, because she showed no mercy. But, in reality, Zuko was more a warrior than Azula would ever be, because to be a warrior your body and mind must be strong. Azula had little humanity; her mind was not strong.

"I know, Iroh. I shouldn't have yelled back at him. I had just made him feel insecure, and, as you said, vulnerable. I had accidentally come across as though I didn't want him to be with me, when I actually was just worried about him. It was my fault," she said ashamedly. I wasn't exactly clear on what she was talking about, but I didn't push.

"My dear, do not completely blame yourself! It was also my nephew's fault, he misinterpreted you. Although that was an accident, he still takes some of the blame," I said.

"You are right, Iroh. I need to go speak with him. He is probably looking for me now. Thank you for you wise words," she said, standing up, and bowing again.

"My pleasure. Congratulations on the engagement, also. Prince Zuko loves you very much," I said, knowing the words would make her heart flutter.

**_Aurelia_**

Every time someone mentioned Zuko loving me, my heart fluttered a little in my chest. I just wanted to apologize to him. I just wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him I was sorry. The idea of him being vulnerable was alien to me, but I loved it. It made him seem so adorable.

I walked back to our adjoined rooms, finding no one there. I had no idea where to look for him! I paraded our hallway, paraded Azula's, went through the Royal Gallery, and the Royal Courtyard, and countless sitting and eating rooms, and returned to the Royal Gardens. Nothing. I eventually just sat down on a small stone patch in the middle of a small pond. Around the pond were tall irises and cherry blossom trees. I wanted to practice waterbending, but I knew this was the last place of all to do so. I ended up just playing with little flames, watching them jump over my fingers and nails.

About an hour later, I saw Zuko come out into the garden from my hiding spot. I watched him for a few minutes, as he rubbed his head worriedly and sighed. When he sat down on a stone bench, I jumped from the pond silently, and crept out of the flowers and trees. I came up from behind him and sat down next to him. At first he was startled, but then he calmed down when he realized it was me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, I just didn't want you to give up everything you have here. I am flattered that you were willing to, and I know that I came off ungrateful for your dedication. I didn't mean it when I said we might not be compatible anymore, I was just angry," I apologized, looking into my lap. After a few seconds I felt Zuko's large hand curl around my waist and I scooted in closer to his side.

"I accept your apology. I'm also sorry. I misinterpreted you and I was rude to you about Master Keanu. I know that he is important to you and that he made you a better person, I am glad that you have someone in your life who you can admire like that and learn from," Zuko said. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, looking at his softly smiling face. I pulled him in close and kissed him slowly, waiting until he pulled away to say something more, but he didn't. We just kept like that, slowly kissing in the garden. He pulled me in closer to his chest and exhaled lightly out of his nose at the feeling of my chest pressed against his. His hands slid down to my hips and pulled me up, closer to him. I rolled my hips onto his lap and started kissing his sharp jawline and underneath his jaw. I searched for his pulse with my lips and pushed them hard against it when I found it. His hands gripped my hips and pushed them hard down onto his hips. A little groan escaped my mouth as I felt him harden beneath my hips. My lips returned to his and I opened my mouth, letting his tongue into my mouth.

"Ugh, can you two get a room please?" A familiar, irritating voice asked from in front of us. I was too focused on Zuko earlier to see her in front of us. We pulled away from each other.

"What do you want?" I asked her aggressively.

"My, good friend, why so harsh? It's not my fault you chose to hook up with my brother in the Royal Palace's _communal _Royal Gardens," she snickered.

"The Royal Garden is gigantic. You can't find another part of it to be in?" I asked her.

"Alright, fine. You caught me. I want to train, and that's not a request, it's an order," she said. I wanted to pull out my hair. Couldn't she just go bother _anyone _else? I groaned loudly. "Oh, please. You'll have plenty of time to sleep with my brother. Last I heard you two are getting married. Congratulations. I'm truly overjoyed. Let's go train, Lia," she said and I stood up, walking towards her, evidently displeased.

"Oh, actually, I'm training Zuko too when I train with you, now," I smiled, and they both looked at me with confused faces.

"Actually, no. I'm ordering to train with you alone," Azula claimed, a condescending smirk on her face.

"Actually, yes. _Fire Lord Ozai _ordered me to train Zuko and you. Looks like you lose this time, Zula!" I yelled sardonically. She looked at me, dumbstruck. "Well, let's go! Both of you!" I yelled and started walking off angrily. I went to the training court in the Royal Gardens and they slowly arrived after me.

Training went well. It was evident that I spent more time and effort with Zuko, to Azula's dismay. Azula started getting angrier and more uncontrolled with her firebending, and at one point, was trying my fire-forcefield set, and accidentally caught all of the plants around us on fire.

"Azula! What the hell!" I yelled at her as I watched the cherry blossom trees burn and crumple. I tried a different set that had just came to mind, and lifted all the fire off of the plants at the same time. It was hard, but when I had made a wall of fire above us and the plants, I decreased it's expanse into a tiny flame that dwindled down into a stream of smoke.

"Sorry, Lia, didn't know you had such a green thumb," Azula chimed, displeased.

"Just because I don't want the entire Royal Gardens to burn down, doesn't mean I have a green thumb," I glared at her. I could probably use my waterbending to restore a little bit of life here, but I certainly couldn't do that around Azula.

"Well, maybe you should stop solely helping Zuko and help me so that I don't do something like that again!" She yelled and I groaned. Zuko was silently standing behind me. "Now, can you show me your greatest set ever? I need to know more." She whined.

"You know them all," I said. This wasn't true, she knew all of the traditional Fire Nation sets that I knew. But she didn't know the revamped sets Master Keanu taught me. I didn't teach her them because she would never even be able to learn them, she had no foundational knowledge or approbation for the other bending forms.

"Don't lie, Aurelia. I know there's more! If you didn't know more than you wouldn't be able to beat me in a match!" She said furiously.

"Any other set that I teach you you won't be able to master! You have hardly mastered the traditional sets that I've taught you, you would never be able to master the unorthodox sets I learned! You don't have the foundation to learn them!" I argued. I immediately shut my mouth, though, knowing I had made a mistake.

"Unorthodox sets? Correct me if I'm wrong, but have you learned sets not prevalent in the Fire Nation? Sets that are not executed with Fire Nation formality?" She asked. I said nothing; Zuko said nothing. "So, you know sets that no one else knows. Sets that no one else can teach me… Did Master Keanu teach you them?" She asked and I nodded meekly.

"I will not train with that traitor. You will train me. You will train me until I know every set you know; until I can defeat you in an Agni Kai," she ordered. "We will meet every day, dawn till dusk, starting tomorrow," she said. Then, she marched off of the court and through the gardens. We were hardly friends anymore, I was just her trainer now. Ever since Zuko and I got back together, training her was all she cared about. I let out a feeble curse of exclamation and hit my forehead with my palm. Zuko reflexively came to me, wrapping his arms around me. His skin was clammy from the training but I didn't care.

"Great. Now, I get to spend the only six months I have with you training that little bitch. Every day. Dusk till dawn," I whined into his chest and he hushed me.

"It's okay, Lia. I'll train with you too, I'll be there with you the whole time." He said quietly. I backed away from him.

"Oh, so you're using this sentence so that you can just improve your bending too?" I snapped sarcastically. His face looked hurt and I immediately felt bad, sheepishly pushing myself back into his arms. He didn't wrap his arms back around me, though. "Sorry, sorry. I just can't believe things are going to get even worse. I should be happy though, I'll get to be with you every day." I felt his bare chest breathing heavily underneath my temple and his arms wrapped around me again. I smiled.

"Do you want to go to our rooms?" He asked me. "I want to shower," he changed the topic. I agreed and we both left the Royal Gardens.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sooorrryyy this is late I've just been really busy the past few days because summer's almost over and obviously I've been pushing off all of my summer work for the last few days. Also...it's my birthday! I managed to take a few hours to rest and to get this chapter up! School is starting soon though so everyone should expect not a totally perfect posting schedule. I apologize in advance. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**_Aurelia_**

I had been training Zuko and Azula for five months, and both of them were improving greatly as firebenders. Usually, Zuko didn't pick up sets as naturally as Azula did, but these sets were so tricky for Azula that she dropped down to the speed Zuko learned them at0. Zuko had adopted the foundational knowledge and approbation of the other bending forms much more easily than Azula had.

Fire Lord Ozai and I had multiple meetings and he kept telling me how elated he was with the work I was doing with Azula and Zuko, and that he had even been slightly impressed with Zuko's work.

_"For once, I feel that my son is not as much a disappointment as I believed he was. I still am ashamed of his cowardice, but I believe that you have the right set of circumstances to transform him into a stronger firebender, therefore becoming a stronger and more courageous man. As you know, fire is the element of power, and as he further masters the element, he further embodies it. I will confide in you that I had been plotting to remove him from sovereign power and making Azula heir to the throne, but you are convincing me to reconsider this arrangement. If you continue to improve Zuko's firebending skills at the rate you have been improving them, he will not be deprived of his sovereign rule," Fire Lord Ozai said from his fiery dais._

_"Thank you, Fire Lord Ozai. Your generosity will make Zuko and I very grateful. I will ensure that Zuko masters everything I know," I said graciously._

_"Make sure you do, otherwise Azula will be made heir to the throne. You are excused."_

I had completely made certain that Zuko had met his father's standards. He had been growing hugely as a bender the past few months and, although he had a long way to go, he was coming closer to mastering firebending every day. I was still holding on to a final shred of hope—that Ozai would value his son's firebending skills over my skills contributing to his forces.

Zuko, Azula and I had just finished training, and Zuko and I went back to our adjoined rooms. We both took showers and changed into comfortable, red and gold robes. We were slumped next to each other, drinking jasmine tea, on a daybed, when the doors were knocked on.

"Come in," Zuko said sleepily, not bothering to ask who it was. The doors opened and a handful of servants flowed in. Many of them with bowls of different gifts and treats.

"Care for anything to eat?" One asked.

"Hot towels?" Another suggested.

"Spiced nuts?"

"More tea?"

"I have two invitations from Lady Seren and Lord Asa addressed to Lady Aurelia and to Prince Zuko. Lady Aurelia, your first letter and Prince Zuko's are identical. Would you care for me to present and read them to you?" One servant said as he bowed.

"Yes," Zuko said. The servant nodded, pulling out a box from a tray behind him. It was clad in red velvet and had delicate, gold trimmings. He opened up the lid and out flew a Sparking Dragonfly, a type of red dragonfly popular in the Fire Nation from the small sparks it produced every couple of wing beats.

The servant cleared his voice, scroll in hand, and said, "Dear Lady Aurelia and Prince Zuko, you are formally invited to the joining in matrimony of Lady Seren and Lord Asa of the Fire Nation. The wedding will be held in exactly a fortnight. The wedding will be held in the Royal Palace courtyard." The servant said loudly. He tucked the scroll back in the box. "Would you like me to subdue the Sparking Dragonfly?" He asked.

"Leave it," I commanded. "What is my second letter? Read it for me," I said and the servant unrolled a second scroll.

"Aurelia, I wish for you to come to my family's palace two nights before the wedding. The rest of the girls and I are getting together one last night before I will have other duties to take care of and will no be able to. I hope you can make it. Seren," the servant read. I nodded and dismissed him and the rest of the servants.

I was angry, this was just another thing that would remind me of how Zuko and I would never be married and that I was planned to leave him forever in about a month. Of course Seren and Asa had no way of knowing that, but I didn't care. I was furious.

"What a contemptible bitch!" I yelled after sitting in silence with Zuko for a few moments. "I hate her! Why does she get a wedding and I don't?" I moaned petulantly.

"It's not her fault," Zuko said quietly. I tried to retain my indignant retort to him, but I couldn't help it.

"I don't care! It's unfair that she gets to have some happy ending and I have to go train with the fucking Northern Water Tribe! I don't want to get anywhere near those helpless renegades!" I yelled, my blood heating with every word. "And I'm tired of your damn happy-go-lucky attitude! Why are you so acceptant of the fact that I'm leaving you forever in a month? You do realize I'll never see you again after I leave?" I asked harshly. I realized that there had been so much anguish and despair inside of me this whole time, all because I felt like he wasn't even expressing that he was going to miss me.

"You think I am accepting the fact that you're leaving? I don't know how I'm going to live without you! The only reason it may seem like I'm accepting it, is because I'm trying not to think that you're leaving because I want to be as happy as I can when I'm with you for the last time! What do you want me to do, mope around all the time? I'm just trying to be happy so that we can enjoy the last time we're together," Zuko yelled, finishing quietly.

I sighed, knowing that I shouldn't have snapped at him. He was right. I sat back down silently on the daybed. We had both stood up, but Zuko had walked halfway across the room and was standing with his arms crossed. He looked quite hot under the collar. I needed to stop making these foolish accusations before I really started insulted him. Zuko wasn't as short-tempered as I was, but I sure could piss him off easily.

"I'm sorry," I grumbled.

"That doesn't fix everything, Aurelia!" He shouted. "You can't just accuse me of that and assume that saying sorry takes it away. I'm tired of you always thinking that I'm against you," he said sternly. In the past few months we had gotten into handfuls of arguments, and they usually consisted of me accusing him of something, him defending himself, and then me apologizing. I had to stop accusing him of things, but I couldn't help it! I would just fly off the handle when bad things happened and blame whoever I could.

"I know, I just get worked up about things and then I blame you. I don't appreciate you as much as I should and I don't appreciate how enjoyable you're trying to make our time together. I'm just scared for the future. Everyone here has some idea of what their future is going to consist of, and it's all good, while I have no idea what's in store for me, only that it's bad," I said, slumping into the daybed. "And I'm shitty for blaming you when I'm mad. And sad. You don't deserve it." I said, closing my eyes as I laid with my face to the ceiling. I laid there for a minute, until I felt Zuko's hands on my arms. He would always be there for me, no matter how much of an absolute bitch I was being. His arms seized my smaller body and he pulled me up, making my eyes open slowly. My eyes met the puddle of gold in the whites of his eyes. I looked at him closely, at the thin ring of amber around his pupil, the exact color of Azula's. It made me wonder if he had any of her in him, any of the same evil inside of him. I looked at every coal black eyelash around his eyes, what set apart the whites of his eyes that were close to the color of his pale skin. His hair wasn't in the ritualistic royal bun that it was almost always in, with it's triple-pronged piece. I preferred it this way anyway. It wasn't long but it wasn't short, it went to his eyes in the front, but he pushed it so that it didn't deprive him of his sight. In the back it reached the nape of his neck. I was surprised that it could be put in the bun being so short, but I told him to never grow it any longer, I had said he wouldn't be as cute with it longer. He had chuckled at that. I wish we were laughing now. Instead he was just looking at me with no distinct emotion on his face and I returned his stare with guilt. He had such a handsome face, I hoped nothing ever changed it. "I'm sorry," I finally whispered again, more sincere than the first time.

"Okay," he whispered in response. We continued to stare at each other for what seemed like days until he leaned in and kissed me heavily. I kissed him back and he pulled away. Motioning with his head to go to bed. I followed him into his bedroom. The past month or so I had starting sleeping with him in his bed. After I'd had a bad nightmare one night and crawled in with him, I'd started doing it every night. It felt more comfortable this way. We hadn't actually _slept _together, but we slept together.

Actually having sex with Zuko probably wouldn't be the smartest idea, seeing I could get pregnant and I wouldn't be a virgin when I married whoever I was going to marry. _Oh, wait! I wasn't getting married, I was becoming a Water Tribe nomad!_ I thought to myself. It would probably be to my benefit to have sex with Zuko, actually. If I got pregnant, then I would have to stay in the Fire Nation. But, would Ozai even care? He wasn't a practical or sensible person, he would probably figure I could pop out the bastard baby somewhere in the Northern Water Tribe and then continue my training. But, then again, it could be my only chance. _Damn, do you hear yourself? _ My conscious asked me, and I realized what I was thinking.

When we reached Zuko's bed, I crawled into the middle. He crawled in too. I first thought he was coming to sleep, but he was not. He hovered over me, kissing my lips and jaw. I lifted up my hands to his sides and firmly pressed my fingers into the fabric of his robe. I wrapped another arm around his neck and pulled him closer to me. His face buried in my neck, my mind losing track of the countless kisses he left. His hands traveled from my sides to my hips, where he squeezed tightly and pulled them up to his. I opened my legs so I could wrap them around his, locking my ankles together. His lips returned to mine and we shared air, breathing deeply into each other as we kissed. Zuko lowered himself further onto me, so he could feel my chest pressed against his more strongly. One of his hands left my hips and went to my neck, where he was slowly working with his lips my robe off my shoulder. I didn't stop him, as he pushed the fabric off of one shoulder, than the other, revealing my bare skin to his needful lips. He ravaged my skin with his lips roughly, but I didn't stop him. I knew that he needed this, he needed to absorb as much of me as he could before I dropped out of his life.

And, I needed to absorb as much of him as I could. I worked his robe completely off of him, exposing his bare chest and red slacks he'd had on underneath his robe. His hands pulled at the bow of my sash and I let him untie it, letting my robe fall open. My chest was bare, but my bottom half was covered in a small, thin skirt that was the same maroon as my robe. Zuko pressed our chests together tightly, using one of his hands to feel my breasts. His other hands slid up and down my hip repeatedly pressing it closer and harder into his hips. I could feel how engorged he was in the nether regions, and I knew what he wanted. I was feeling extremely indecisive, though, and I had no idea what I would do and how this would turn out. His hand began pushing up the thin cloth of my skirt, and I didn't stop him, because I didn't want to stop him. Both of his hands ended up on the skin of my hips, under my skirt, but no where else to my relief, and surprisingly also my dismay. He didn't push having sex, and so I didn't say anything about it. I knew if he had gone for it I wouldn't have done anything, and let him do it. Maybe some day before I left I would let him take me. The night ended with me satisfying his "problem" with my hands, and a few concluding sweet kisses. We cuddled up close to each other and talked for a few minutes before going to bed.

"So, are you not mad at me anymore?" I asked him with a little smile. He was perched up on one of his arm, and looked down at me, smiling.

"No, I'm not," he said happily. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said and kissed him one last time before falling asleep. Most nights after that ended like that one. I was slowly feeling myself opening up, letting myself just enjoy what I had at that moment with Zuko.

The next two weeks were far better than they had been. I was more grateful of the limited time I had with Zuko, so I utilized it. I was mad at myself for having not utilized the time before I had with him to it's full extent. We were happier now, and the endless hours of training with him and Azula weren't as agonizing as they had been.

The night of Seren's little gathering had finally come. Azula had even brought it up during training one day.

_"I presume you're going to Seren's carousal tonight?" Azula asked me during a short break she allowed us to take between a strenuous set._

_"Wait, carousal?" Zuko asked earnestly. "Not another one of those…" He groaned._

_"Calm down, brother, this doesn't involve you," Azula said harshly._

_"Actually it does, I don't want Aurelia getting in trouble," Zuko said._

_"In case you need a reminder, Zuko, I don't get in trouble. If Aurelia's with me, she's untouchable. And what would be the trouble we got into? Having a little fun with the bride on one of her last days of genuine freedom?" Azula asked irately._

_"I thought this was just a little gathering," I said defensively._

_"It is, it is. Don't worry. It will be fun—the usual. You're still coming, right?" She asked and I looked at Zuko who shrugged._

_"I guess so," I agreed lightly._

I traipsed up the elaborate grand staircase of the palace Seren lived in. Servants had escorted me from the Royal Palace to hers, but when I reached the entrance to the palace I shooed away the servants and allowed the guards to take me from there. I knew where to go, having been to many carousals with these girls at Seren's house. We always met up in the sitting room in Seren's wing of the palace. Inside would be all of the girls sitting together, surrounding a long oak table. On the table would be dozens of elaborate glass bottles. We would do this at least once every summer. It was usually very fun and enjoyable, but I had just kind of wanted to spend the night with Zuko. But, I guessed this was a good opportunity to spend one last good time with my best friends.

We called these specific get togethers "carousals". A carousal is defined as a lively drinking party, but ours took on a new meaning. Every time we'd end up drinking so much we would wake up somewhere we couldn't remember going to. What we would do, in between the start and end of the party, is go to the towns of Capital City. We would be just moderately upperclass citizens for a night and go to all the festivals and parties and taverns that we could think of.

I knocked on the door to Seren's sitting room and was alarmed when the door flew open immediately. Ty Lee had opened it with Kamilah slung under her left arm, who was clutching a near-empty glass bottle of a yellow liquor.

"Looks like I'm late," I commented with a smirk as Azula and Taja ran up to me, pulling me into the room. Everything was just as I expected, except many of the bottles were empty or in the hands of the girls. From what I had absorbed when I first walked in the door, Kamilah was very drunk, which usually happened. Taja was too, and Azula was buzzed. I hadn't seen Seren yet. I followed a giggling Azula to the largest couch in the sitting room, where Seren laid, hugging the largest glass bottle in her arms.

"I'm getting married in two days!" She screamed. Her voice slurred heavily. Seren saw me and shot up, hugging me tightly and handing me the bottle. I opened it and took a swig, wincing at the burn. "Aurelia! You came! I'm so happy, I thought you would end up ditching us and spending the night fucking Zuko," she sighed. Grabbing two teacups lazily and filling them both up with the glass bottle.

"Fucking Zuko? I haven't slept with him, Seren," I laughed.

"Sure you haven't! I hope you're not lying because you really shouldn't until you're married. I slept with Asa and I feel like there's so much less to be excited about when we're finally married," she said regretfully.

"You slept with Asa? How was it?" I asked urgently. I really wanted to know how it was, I had been a little worried about the issue with Zuko.

"_How was it?_ Good, I guess? I mean, I love Asa but it didn't feel great. I think that's because it was my first time, so it kind of hurt. It was different from anything else I've ever felt," she said casually. I nodded.

"Alright, I can handle that," I said to myself.

"Don't do it, Lia! Wait until you're married. Or, at least until the time is completely right. I just hope I'm not pregnant, but I guess that wouldn't be much harm seeing I'm marrying the man in almost one day," she said. We had both finished our teacups and begun on a second. And the third, and a few more until I was just as bad as Azula, who was on the floor giggling after having tripped over Kamilah.

"Ready to go to town?" Seren asked in a loud voice. We all screamed "yes" in reply and Seren laid a pile of black cloaks in the middle. In order to leave Caldera City, we had to sneak out. I grabbed a cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders.

We went down a staircase that was part of Seren's wing and through the garden, climbing over the stone fence. We were loud, but no one heard. Azula, Seren, and I were clung together, holding on to each other as we stumbled out of the ring of noble families' houses.

"Where to?" Azula asked with a giggle.

"There!" I said dramatically and pointed my finger to a tavern down the street. I could hear the tavern emitting loud sounds and see the lights flashing every so often. We eventually reached it and barged in, through a crowd. I immediately walked to the bar and ordered three ales for myself, Seren, and Azula. They had both asked.

We ended up meeting a group of ten men who were about fifteen years older than us, something that Taja appreciated. They bought us multiple rounds of drinks. Two of them were particularly keen on me, spending the whole time trying to hold my hands flirtatiously and push themselves as close to me as possible. I laughed it off and looked at Seren and Taja, who were blossoming under the attention, especially Taja, with four men fawning over them. Azula and Mai were talking to another man, and Mai and Kamilah were playing some gambling game out of sight. I eventually deserted the two men to see how Mai and Kamilah were, but I found them still following me. I stumbled and they insisted on helping me.

Kamilah was sitting at the gambling table, a sufficient piles of bronze coins in front of her. One man was leaning on her, whispering in her ear, and she giggled. Somehow, I saw Ty Lee's form in a dark corner away from all the action of the gambling table. She was sitting down, with a handsome man nibbling on her ear. I decided to leave her, she was enjoying the attention.

_I wish Zuko was here, _I thought to myself. I wasn't having as much fun as I could be having with him not here. He was probably in his bed, sleeping. Or practicing sets.

The rest of the night was repetitive. I would drink more and let the men be obsequious to me, and then relocate only to find more, different men all over me again. There were three that were extremely persistent, and one said he would never leave me be until I gave him a kiss on the cheek! And, I did. It was nothing like kissing Zuko's smooth cheek, a delicacy I'm given when Zuko is willing to show that he wants affection too.

We had to leave when we found that Ty Lee was in a private room, alone, with the same man as before, but pushed half naked to the floor. She was drunk and therefore feeling very promiscuous. We decided to go to a liquor store after that, then we rested at a waterfall in the town.

"Aurelia," Azula called in a forcibly steady voice. She was lying on the other half on the waterfall, on the edge.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Come here." She commanded. Her voice wasn't harsh though, it was surprisingly gentle. I got up from my side of the waterfall and laid next to her on the edge the was lying on.

"What is it?" I asked her quietly.

"I'm…" She started and then rubbed her eyes. She was slurring and very drunk but I was listening to her. Her voice was gentle and calm right now, the alcohol having subdued her. I appreciated her like that. "I'm sorry. For all the shit that I give you about Zuko. Zuko is a pathetic weakling who serves as the weak link in a great line of powerful Fire Lords, don't get me wrong, but he loves you, a lot. I even asked him once, and he gave me this long, lame speech about you. It was sweet, though. I just get mad because you are my best friend and I feel like my own brother is taking you from me," she confessed. She was being so benevolent, something I had never seen her like. She was sincere, too. I really appreciated it.

"Thanks, Zula. I understand why that would make you angry. You're still my best friend." I said, smiling.

"Good," she said, looking up at the stars. "And just so you know, I won't remember any of this tomorrow, so don't talk about it because I'll just deny it," she snickered. I laughed, and eventually fell asleep.


End file.
